Chapter 1: RUNAWAY
Chapter Text
The stars are beautiful tonight.
That’s the only thing Ranboo can think about because he can see the stars for the first time in years. That’s the only thing he can think about even though, just behind him, his home is on fire; it’s the only thing Ranboo can think about, even though there are men in black suits chasing after him and Tommy. Ranboo laughs, he laughs because if he doesn’t, he might just cry, and he can’t do that, not now, not while Tommy is on his back holding on for dear life because his wings are bound, and he can’t fly, he can’t cry now, even though for half of his life he was tortured and experimented on. He can’t cry now, not while the men in black suits are catching up to him, and he knows that if they catch him, he and Tommy will be punished for their attempted escape. He can’t cry even though one of the men shoots, and a bullet hits his leg. Ranboo cries out in agony and teleports somewhere far, far away from them. Ranboo lay on the ground, chest heaving, Tommy sat next to him, trying to get his leg to stop bleeding, and Ranboo felt like he was dying. He feels lightheaded from using his powers so much, he struggles to breathe, and he thinks that maybe he is dying, and yet he has never felt so alive.
The stars are beautiful tonight, Ranboo thinks, and he laughs because he and his brother are finally free.
🏃🏃🏻♂️
“Breaking news, a wave of purple magic hit the city last night, causing mass destruction in lower districts. The heroes have reported that the wave came from the city known as Logstedshire and are investigating what happened as we speak. ”
—------
Phil frowned as he looked over the crumbling city. Buildings were burnt down and crumbling, yet the streets were empty; there was no sign of life except for the occasional body they found. It was odd to have no one around asking for help or trying to put out the fires . He walked around looking for any signs of life when he ran into Nihachu, who was putting out one of the fires, “Did you find anyone?” he asked, and she shook her head, “Nope, it’s like the people just…Vanished.”
But..How? How did an entire city go missing? Where could they have gone? Saber snapped Phil out of his thoughts, saying, “This one’s alive!” Both he and Nihachu ran over to where Saber was. He was kneeling next to a woman who was severely burnt.“Ma'am, are you okay?” the woman snapped her eyes toward Phil, and the look that she gave him sent a chill down his spine, “You can’t let him find them.” she said, “Find who?” Nihachu asked, “He’ll destroy everything. You have to find them before he does.” The woman said, “Who’s he? Who are you talking about?” Phil asked, but the woman didn’t answer, “Ma’am?” Saber checked her pulse, “She’s gone.” he said. Phill sighed and Saber patted him on his back, “C’mon, let’s go home. I’ll call headquarters and have them send a team to come and clean this up.” Phil nodded and looked back down at the now-dead woman. He saw an ID pinned to her shirt and picked it up.
𝙰𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚜𝚊 𝙸.
𝙸𝙳 𝙽𝙾: 𝟷𝟼𝟿𝟶
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛: 𝙵𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎
𝙻𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕: 𝟷𝟶
Phil stuffed it in his pocket so he could look into it later. He flew up into the night sky and headed back to L’manburg.
In the city, two boys are welcomed into a cafe and offered a home.
Chapter 2: New Faces
Summary:
“Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to order something?” Tommy asked, frowning at the customer.
Tommy and Ranboo meet some new friends
Notes:
Omg, this took longer to write than I expected. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Get back here, you little shit!" The man yelled; Tommy continued to run away. The man was gaining on him, and Tommy ducked into an alleyway in an attempt to get away. He cursed as he ran into a dead end. "You've got nowhere to run now, kid." Tommy turned around and put his hands up in surrender, "Hey, big man, can we just talk about this?" Tommy said, and the man responded by pulling out a pocketknife. Tommy laughed nervously as the man got closer to him. Tommy took a step back as the man continued to get closer. Now, what happened next is all a blur to Tommy; one minute, the man had a knife to his throat the next, Tommy was waking up to the number three hero asking him if he was okay.
"Kid, can you hear me?" As Tommy came to his senses, he realized who was kneeling in front of him. The number three hero Specter was sitting before him, "What the fuck?" Tommy groaned and sat up; he felt a little lightheaded but other than that, he was fine. "What happened? Are you okay?" Siren asked, "I'm fine. That asshole tried to mug me while I was walking home from work." Tommy said as he stood up, he could feel a headache coming on, but it was light enough that Tommy ignored it. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem kinda out of it." the hero asked, "I'm fine." Tommy answered although he felt a wave of nausea when he stood. He pushed it down and started to walk out of the alley when the hero stopped him, "I-uh, be safe." he said, "Yeah, whatever." And with that, Tommy left the alley.
Tommy sat at the register staring into outer space. It had been a week since the strange encounter with Specter, and he hadn't seen him since then. Tommy knew he would see him again sometime soon on patrol; the hero just loved to chase him down every chance he got. Tommy thought about the last thing the hero had said to him in the alley. He had looked at Tommy as if he had recognized him. Though that was impossible, he had made sure that his civilian identity wasn't tied to his vigilante one, and the only other way the hero would recognize him was if-
No, that's not possible. Ranboo had ensured that when they came to L'manburg, no one would know who they were and what they were capable of. (“Ray and Thomas Smith? Those are dumb names.” Tommy said, “It’s better than what you suggested.” Ranboo replied, “What’s wrong with Tomthy?”) Tommy shook his head; he was starting to sound like Ranboo for a second. The bell above the door rang, signifying that someone had entered the cafe. "Welcome to Lovely Cafe. What can I get you?" He said in an overly cheerful voice, knowing he would get a stern talking-to from Puffy for sounding dead inside. The customer at the counter was silent for a beat, and upon looking up from the register to see who he was talking to, Tommy saw a guy who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had round wire-rimmed glasses and a head of curly brown hair, and he wore a bright yellow sweater.
And he was staring at Tommy, seemingly in awe.
"Are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to order something?" Tommy asked, frowning at the customer. The guy blinked and straightened out, having snapped out of whatever haze he was in, "Shit, sorry. I, uh, thought you looked familiar." he explained. Tommy hummed, "Sounds like a very handsome and respectable man. Anyway, are you gonna order something, or are you just gonna continue to stare at me like a creep?" The customer raised his eyebrows in surprise, and instead of hearing Where's your manager? The customer just snorted and gave him his order. When the guy told him the name of the order, Tommy scrunched up his nose, "What kind of person names their kid Wilbur? That's such a shit name." Tommy said, "Hey! At least I don't have a generic name like Thomas." Tommy blinked in surprise and wondered how he knew his name before remembering that he had a nametag. He gave Wilbur his total and watched him sit down and pull out a rather expensive-looking computer before he started making his drink.
"Triple shot latte for Wilbur," Tommy called out, sliding it onto the pickup. Wilbur grabbed the drink, pausing to look at the name written on it. Bitch Boy! Wilbur snorted, "How nice of you," he said as he sipped the drink, "I know, I'm very nice, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet." Wilbur rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever, I'll see you around, Thomas." he waved, leaving the cafe.
From that day on, Wilbur came to the cafe every day and quickly became Tommy's favorite customer (though he would never say it out loud because Wilbur would tease him about it.) They bounced off each other well and would insult each other at every chance. He was fun to talk to, and though it was embarrassing to admit, Tommy would get excited every time he saw Wilbur.
Then after a week, he disappeared.
Tommy tried to ignore his disappointment when he came to work, and Wilbur never showed up. It was stupid of Tommy to be disappointed; Wilbur was just another customer. He wasn't the first customer to crack jokes with him and certainly wasn't the last. Since it was Ranboo's off day, Tommy didn't have anyone to talk to, but he wasn't lonely. Tommy was a big man, and big men didn't get lonely. So, he continued with his day like nothing was wrong.
After getting home, Tommy plopped onto the couch with a huff. Ranboo's head poked out of the kitchen. "Rough day?" he asked. Tommy hummed in response. Ranboo sat next to Tommy, "You still wanna go on patrol?" He wondered; Tommy looked up from where his head was buried in a pillow and smirked, "Hell yeah."
---------------
Tommy jumped from rooftop to rooftop, smiling at the stars. It was a relatively quiet night, and Tommy took advantage of that by running around doing whatever he wanted. Ranboo's voice cracked through the speaker, "I think we should call it a night." Tommy groaned, "Oh come on, Lunar, it's not even that late!" he complained, "It's 1 a.m., and we have the early shift tomorrow. You've stopped one robbery, and nothing has happened since then." Ranboo stated. Tommy sighed, "Fine. I'll be home soon." Tommy turned around and began running back to their apartment.
He stopped when he heard screams coming from a couple of blocks away. He ran towards the commotion and saw the villain Poison Princess a criminal with a poison touch robbing a bank. Police officers dropped left and right as she threw poison-filled daggers at them. "Tommy, I know what you're thinking; you need to get out of there now before she sees you." Ranboo said, "But I need to help!" Tommy exclaimed, "No, you need to get out of there!" Well, it was too late for that now, as the villain had already seen him, "Why hello, Supernova! Come to join the fun?" she teased. Tommy jumped down from the rooftop he was on, "Look, Princess, how about you just put the money back and surrender? Then this whole thing could be done with, yeah?" Tommy said, but she just laughed.
"But that wouldn't be any fun now, would it?" she pulled out one of her daggers. Tommy sighed and pulled out his baton. "I don't want to fight you," Princess responded by throwing a knife at him that he just barely dodged. She continued to throw knives at Tommy as she stalked closer and closer while Tommy tried to stay as far away from her as possible. "Stop moving, you brat!" she snarled. Tommy continued to dodge the knives, "The heroes will be there any minute now. Just keep distracting her." Ranboo said. Tommy sighed, "Well, they better hurry. I'm not sure how much longer I can-" A stinging pain in his arm cut off Tommy's words. A knife had cut through his suit and scraped his arm. He hissed in pain as another knife flew past him and grazed his cheek, and then she threw another that Tommy barely dodged. He stumbled a bit as he felt the poison spreading, and the villain took the chance to throw another knife at him, causing him to fall.
Princess stared down at him, "Any last words?" she asked, "Yeah, what do you think about the stars?" Everything burst into light.
Everything after that was a blur, but the last thing Tommy saw was Ranboo then everything went black.
Blood. That's the first thing Ranboo saw when he teleported onto the scene.
He saw Tommy unconscious and ran to his side, "Tommy! Tommy!? Can you hear me?" No response, "Shit," He didn't know what to do; Tommy was bleeding out, and Ranboo didn't know what to do., Tommy had never been hurt this badly on patrol before. He could go home and stitch the wound in his stomach closed, but Tommy would eventually die from the poison running through his veins. While he was thinking, Ranboo failed to see the heroes had arrived at the scene, "Lunar Eclipse?" Specter called, but Ranboo teleported away, leaving the hero confused.
They landed on the roof of a random building. Ranboo shook Tommy to wake him up, and he groaned, "Boo?" Tommy slurred, "Yeah, it's me. I need you to stay awake for me. Can you do that?" Ranboo asked, "But 'm tired," Tommy whined. Ranboo sighed, "I know you can sleep later, but I need you to keep your eyes open for now." Ranboo heard footsteps land behind him. He turned around, eyes glowing a light purple, and a knife in hand, "Woah there, big guy! I just came to help!" Ranboo's eyes stopped glowing, but he didn't drop the knife, "I saw the fight. I can help him if you would allow me to." Ranboo thought for a second; on the one hand, he said that he could help, and Ranboo was tempted to let him but the last time someone said they could help ended up hurting him and Tommy. The person before him must've sensed Ranboo's distrust, "I promise I don't have any ill intent. I-I have anti-venom; it can cure him." Ranboo thought for a second before putting the knife away.
The person kneeled next to Tommy, who was staring at the sky. The stranger looked over Tommy's wounds and grimaced at the damage, "Do you have a first aid kit by any chance, 'cause he's gonna need stitches." Ranboo sighed, he knew he shouldn't take a stranger to his home, but it was either that or have Tommy die. So, he picked Tommy up, who whined in pain, and told the stranger to grab onto him.
Once they got to the apartment, Ranboo laid Tommy onto the couch and ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. When he returned, the stranger had a bottle filled with a pink liquid. "It's anti-venom," he explained. Ranboo sat the first aid kit down and shook Tommy to wake him up, "Hey, hey, I need you to drink this." he helped Tommy drink the strange liquid and ensured he swallowed it. Tommy scrunched up his face, "Tastes like shit," he murmured, which caused the stranger to laugh, "Yeah, I forgot to warn you about the taste." He said, "Where’d you get this?" Ranboo asked, "I uh, made it myself. I've had a few run-ins with Princess Ivy and thought it'd be smart to make an antidote." Ranboo hummed as the stranger opened the first aid kit and pulled out a needle and thread, "Now, I will warn you, this is gonna hurt like hell." he said, and Tommy just closed his eyes, seemingly slipping into an unconscious state. While the stranger fixed Tommy up, Ranboo took the chance to look at the stranger. He was wearing a black T-shirt, a black leather jacket with a nuclear sign, and black jeans. His mask was black, covering only the bottom half of his face, while his hair covered the top half. Ranboo could also see little horns sticking out of his hair.
Once the stranger was done, he threw the needle away while Ranboo put the first aid kit away. "He's gonna need to be on bed rest for a while so the poison can fully get out of his system and all his wounds can heal." Ranboo nodded, "Thank you..."
"Tubbo, my name is Tubbo." Tubbo smiled, "I'm Lunar Eclipse" Ranboo didn't want to give his name to someone he barely knew, so he would stick with his vigilante's name. "Oh, we're using our vigilante names okay-uh I'm Atomic Wave then, Nuke for short, but you can call me by my real name since you already know it."
"Wait, aren't you the mayor's son?" Tubbo nodded, "Yeah," he replied, "And you're a vigilante?" Tubbo nodded again. Huh. The mayor's kid was a vigilante. That's funny. "Hey, um, me and my dad kinda got into an argument, and I don't wanna go back home, so I was wondering if I could stay here for the night." Ranboo thought for a second.
On the one hand, Tubbo was a stranger, and Ranboo didn't really trust him, but on the other hand, Tubbo seemed nice (and was the mayor's kid, and if Ranboo didn't let him stay, he would probably tell his father that they were vigilantes and get them arrested.) Ranboo sighed, "Fine," Tubbo cheered, "But you have to help me get T-Nova off the couch and into bed." Tubbo nodded, so Ranboo picked Tommy up by the arms while Tubbo held his legs, and they carried him to bed. After that, Ranboo cleaned as much of the blood as he could off the couch so Tubbo could sleep on it but ultimately flipped the cushions over.
He gave Tubbo some blankets and headed off to bed.
He reminded himself that everything was okay, Tommy was alive, and Tubbo would only stay for one day before he finally drifted off to sleep.
Notes:
Wow, I'm sorry for the long wait guys. A lot of stuff has been happening with school and then I got grounded so that was a thing, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if it seems a little iffy, this is my first time writing something with the intent to post it so yeah. Anyways I promise to post the next chapter as soon as I can. I love you all! Until next time friends!
Update 3/17/22: omg I just noticed the missing paragraph in the chapter smh, I just fixed it though anyways I'll see you guys later
Chapter 3: Friends?
Summary:
"Say, we make a good team, don't we Ray?" Tubbo elbowed his side. Ranboo lifted his head off of the couch to see that Tubbo was smiling at him. Ranboo smiled back, "Call me Ranboo, and yeah."
"Yeah, we do."
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
When Ranboo woke up the following day he was pretty surprised to find Tubbo in the kitchen making breakfast. "Oh! Good morning!" he exclaimed, "I hope you don't mind me making breakfast, I just thought it would be a nice thing to do. Oh! I also re-stocked your fridge since it was empty when I looked in it." Ranboo opened the fridge and was met with more food than he and Tommy could ever afford. "Thank you, but you didn't have to," Tubbo put a hand up to stop him, "You don't have to thank me, I mean, it's the least I could do considering that you're letting me stay in your apartment." he said, "Well-wait, I thought we agreed on one night?" Ranboo furrowed his brows, "Oh, shit, right. It's just that my dad called last night, and well, long story short, we had a big argument, and I don't think I'll be going back to my house anytime soon." Tubbo sighed, "Oh," was all Ranboo could say, "Yeah, but I'm sure I could stay with a friend, so don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in no time." Tubbo said. Ranboo didn't know why but didn't want Tubbo to leave. Maybe it was because he felt bad for him, or it was because he had helped Tommy, and Ranboo wished to repay the favor, but either way, Ranboo wanted Tubbo to stay, "Y-you can stay if you want." Tubbo eyes lit up, "Wait, really!?" Ranboo nodded and was slightly surprised when Tubbo hugged him, "Thank you so much!" Ranboo patted his back in return. He would probably regret letting Tubbo stay later on; after all, he was a stranger, but Ranboo decided that he could worry about it later.
........
Ranboo could barely focus. He had left Tommy alone with a stranger! What was he thinking!? He could barely concentrate with all the anxiety he was feeling. The bell above the door rang, and Ranboo did his best to get his thoughts together. "Welcome to Lovely Cafe. How can I help you?" he said, "Oh, hi can I get an uh triple shot latte for Wilbur." Oh, so this customer came in every day and talked with Tommy, "If you don't mind me asking, where's Tommy?" Wilbur asked, "Oh, he's out sick." Ranboo responded, "Oh, is-is he okay? I hope he gets better." he looked concerned, "Yeah, he'll be out for a while, but he's okay." Wilbur nodded, "When you see him, tell him I said hi." Ranboo nodded and watched as he sat at a table in the corner of the cafe. Ranboo had been watching Wilbur and Tommy's interactions. Wilbur seemed to be trying to get closer to Tommy, and Ranboo just wanted to ensure he wouldn't hurt him. He couldn't let that happen, n̶o̶t̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶. So, Ranboo makes a note to keep an eye on Wilbur.
Ranboo was distracted for the rest of the day. His thoughts kept wandering back to last night, Tommy covered in blood on the brink of death, the blood on his hands-
It reminded him too much of the last time they saw him. Tommy was on the ground bleeding and crying while he stood there laughing, calling Tommy weak. He remembers him kicking Tommy in the stomach and hearing a sickening crack-
"Excuse me," Ranboo snapped back into reality to see Wilbur standing in front of him, "Uh, can I get a black coffee?" he asked, "Just a black coffee?" Wilbur nodded, "It's uh, not for me but my brother. He's working overtime and asked me to get him some coffee." he explained. Ranboo just nodded and started brewing the coffee. While waiting, Wilbur tried to make small talk, "So, you're friends with Tommy, right?" Rambo hummed, "How long have you guys been working here?" he asked, "About six months," Ranboo replied, "Cool, cool," They stood in awkward silence until the coffee was ready, "Here's your coffee, have a nice day." Wilbur smiled and left the cafe. Well, that was awful. Ranboo wasn't sure what Wilbur was trying to do, but it had failed miserably. After the strange conversation, Ranboo went on with his day as usual. After clocking out, Ranboo practically ran to the subway, he needed to get home as quickly as possible. He knew he was probably overreacting. Tubbo seemed harmless.
Keyword: Seemed
When he returned to the apartment, he hurried up the stairs, and once he got to the door, he heard screaming, "No! No! No! Stop!" Ranboo scrambled to get inside, terrified of what he would see, "Tommy!?" Tommy and Tubbo looked up from the game they were playing, "Oh, hey, big man! What's up?" Tommy asked, "I-uh-what are you guys doing?" Ranboo questioned, "Oh! We were playing Mario Kart; I won, by the way." Tubbo replied, and Tommy groaned, "I would've won if you didn't throw that blue shell." Tubbo just laughed. Tommy looked up at Ranboo and furrowed his brows, "Hey, what's wrong? You're making that face you make when you're worried. Y'know, the one where your eyes are like poppin' outta their eye sockets' n shit." he asked. Ranboo didn't know what was wrong, he guessed he was just paranoid (for a good reason, Tubbo was a stranger, for Prime's sake!), so he just smiled, "Nothing, just glad to be home." he lied. He still didn't trust Tubbo, but for now, Ranboo would pretend he did. Tommy looked as if he didn't believe Ranboo but didn't say anything. "So, what do you guys want for dinner?"
Since they had much more food than before (thanks to Tubbo), they had chicken and rice instead of cup noodles. "This is the best fuckin' meal I've had in ages." Tommy praised, "Tommy, don't chew with your mouth open; you'll choke." said Ranboo, "So, how long have you guys been living here?" Tubbo asked, "Uh, about six months," Ranboo replied, "Why here out of all places, though? I mean, it's kind of small for two people, and it's a little run down, don't cha think?" Tubbo asked, "It's the only place we can afford." Tubbo's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Oh," There was an awkward silence before Tubbo spoke again, "I-I'm sorry I didn't-" Tommy cut him off, "It's fine, Tubbo." he said, "Do you guys need anything like money or-" Ranboo shook his head, "We don't need your money Tubbo." he said, "Well just know if you ever do need some, I have plenty to spare." Tubbo smiled.
After dinner, they decided to watch a movie before sleeping, though Ranboo didn't sleep. His mind wouldn't allow it, so he stared at the ceiling waiting for sleep to overtake him. Now that Ranboo was alone with his thoughts, he thought about how long they had been here, six months, and Dream still hadn't found them. Ranboo smiled at the idea that they could build a new life here and not worry if he would come looking for them. Maybe-
Ranboo's thoughts were cut off by Tommy screaming. Ranboo hurried to Tommy's side, who was sobbing uncontrollably, "No, no, please I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It won't happen again, please." he cried, "Hey, it's okay, it's okay, he's not here, he can't hurt you anymore, I promise." Ranboo whispered; Tubbo burst through the door holding a knife, "What happened!? What's wrong!? Who-" he cut himself off when he saw Tommy crying, "Tommy? What-"
"Nothing, I've got this Tubbo, just go back to sleep." Tubbo opened his mouth to protest, but he decided not to; this was none of his business, so he left the room, closing the door behind him. Tommy continued to sob into Ranboo's chest while he whispered reassurances in Tommy's ear, promising to keep him safe.
After calming Tommy down, Ranboo stayed by his side until he fell asleep. Still, he sat there running his fingers through Tommy's hair, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath he took. When Tommy began to whimper in his sleep, Ranboo took his hand and squeezed it, "Hey," he whispered, "I'm here, you're okay." Tommy's face morphed back into a calmer look and Ranboo sighed, he was stupid to think that they could ever live without the fear of him coming back, not after everything he's done to them, plus he's still out there somewhere and no doubt looking for the both of them. But that didn't matter because even if Dream found them, Ranboo would keep his promise to Tommy, no matter what. E̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d.
After a few days, Tommy was feeling well enough to go back to work, though Ranboo had told him to hold off on going on patrol for a few more days. So, that morning both Ranboo and Tommy went to work (along with Tubbo because he didn't want to stay at the apartment alone. "I would be lonely.”) When they got there Puffy greeted them with a smile, "Tommy! It's great to see you, I was beginning to get worried!" Tommy rolled his eyes and smiled, "You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself." Ranboo rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath, Tubbo snorted and covered his mouth to try and muffle his giggles, "What so funny?" Tommy asked Tubbo shook his head and Tommy scowled at them both before turning back around to grab his apron, "Well, you too better get to work. It's almost 8, you know what that means." Both Tommy and Ranboo groaned, "Karen rush hour," Puffy laughed and ushered them to get to work.
The day was fairly uneventful. A few Karens came in and both boys tried their hardest not to curse them out ("No Barbra, this isn't your drink, it's for a different customer. I'll get to your drink in just a moment." "No, unfortunately, we do not have gluten-free blueberry muffins. No, we cannot make any.”) Tubbo would occasionally mess with Ranboo or Tommy, distracting them from whatever they were doing. ("No-Tubbo! Those are for the customers!" Ranboo shouted as Tubbo stuffed another cookie in his mouth.) Then a familiar brunette walked into the cafe and Tommy's face lit up. To most, Tommy looked as if he was scowling at the man, but Ranboo had known Tommy his whole life, he could see the excitement in Tommy's eyes as soon as Wilbur walked through the door. Ranboo watched their interaction from afar, while watching them he failed to notice Tubbo standing behind him, "What' cha doing bossman?" Ranboo jumped and turned around to face Tubbo, "I was just-Tubbo How many times have I told you not to eat any of the pastries unless you'll be paying for them." Tubbo rolled his eyes, pulled out his wallet, and handed Ranboo a hundred-dollar bill. "Keep the change." Ranboo stared at him for a moment before rolling his eyes and going back to wiping down the kitchen counter. "Rich people," he mumbled.
Tommy and Wilbur bickering could be heard coming from the front of the cafe, "Hey Tubbo?" Tubbo hummed, "Do you know Wilbur?" Ranboo asked, "Oh, yeah! He works in the Hero Tower, why?" Ranboo's eyes widened. The Hero Tower!? Shit. What if he was here because he knew who they were? Did he know they were vigilantes and had planned to arrest them? Or did he know where they came from, and he came here to convince them to become heroes? Or did Dream send him to infiltrate the Hero Tower and find them-
"-boo? You okay bossman? You look a little pale." Tubbo questioned, "I-yeah, yeah, I'm good. I just-"
"You wanna make sure that he's not a threat, yeah, I get it. I could introduce you to him if you'd like." Tubbo said, Ranboo thought for a moment before agreeing. They walked out of the kitchen to where Tommy and Wilbur were, "Wilbur! How ya doin' man?" Tubbo greeted, "Tubbo, nice to see you! I've been well, how've you been?" Wilbur replied, "Wait, you guys know each other?" Tommy questioned, "Yeah, he works at the Hero Tower so-"
"You work at the Hero Tower!?" Tommy exclaimed; customers were now staring. Wilbur laughed nervously, "Yeah but could you not be so loud about it-"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tommy asked, "Well I didn't think it was that important-"
"You didn't think it was important that you worked at the Hero Tower?" Ranboo said, sounding unimpressed. "I-Well-" Wilbur stuttered, "I'm sure it was only because of confidentiality. Right, Wilbur?" Tubbo interjected, "Uh, yeah, right, right." Wilbur and Tubbo looked at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation. Ranboo narrowed his eyes at the two of them. They were keeping something from both him and Tommy.
"So, Wilbur, do you know Corvus?" Tommy asked, "I don't work directly with the heroes but I'm sure I can ask him to sign something for you." Wilbur replied, "Really!?" Wilbur nodded, and Tommy's eyes lit up, "Oh, thank you, Wilbur! You're the best, the poggest of all men, after Angel of course, oh and Saber." Tommy said, he then continued to talk about how cool Saber was while Wilbur listened with a fond smile on his face. Ranboo took this time to look at Wilbur and make sure he wasn't a threat. He didn't look like he had much strength, but Ranboo had learned never to judge a book by its cover so, even though Wilbur didn't look like much of a threat right now, he could be one later. But, from the way Wilbur was looking at Tommy Ranboo decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He prayed that this wouldn't turn out like last time.
That night both Ranboo and Tubbo went on patrol with Tommy helping behind the scenes. Ranboo hadn't been out on patrol in a while, he had forgotten how freeing it felt. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, feeling the cool air on his face. It had been a pretty busy night, they had stopped three muggings, and two car thieves, and they helped an elderly woman get home. They were wandering around aimlessly looking for any crime that could be happening or anyone who needed help with something. Suddenly Tommy's voice crackled through the coms, "Uh, guys, there's a huge fire around Jubilee Avenue. I know it's a little out of your usual patrol area, but I think the heroes need help." he said, "Got it, we're headed there now." Both Ranboo and Tubbo turned around and ran to where Tommy had said the fire was.
Once they were close enough, they could see smoke emitting from a large apartment complex, Nihachu, and the firefighters had succeeded in putting out half of the fire, but a good portion of the building was engulfed in flames. It seems that most of the people who lived there were out of the building and safe, but a woman was screaming about her child, "Ma'am, what floor is your child on?" Tubbo asked, "She's on the seventh floor, The heroes said that they would get her, but it's been 15 minutes and they still haven't saved her! Please, I just want my daughter back." the woman cried, "Don't worry ma'am, Lunar and I will handle this." Both vigilantes looked at each other and nodded. Ranboo teleported to the seventh floor and was hit with an overwhelming amount of fire, suddenly There was a Bing and a voice cracked through the coms, "Lunar Eclipse, Atomic Wave, nice of you to show up." Specter, ugh, of course. Ranboo rolled his eyes and began to search for the little girl. "Well, we wouldn't've had to if you guys were doing your job." Tubbo snarked, "I assume you all know the situation already." Corvus interjected, "Yup, Lunar is already on the move searching for the girl."
Ranboo muted himself and began coughing from all of the smoke he inhaled. Suddenly a little voice came from behind one of the closed doors, "Hello?" it said, "Hello?" Ranboo called back, though Lunar Eclipse isn't supposed to talk. This was a dire situation; he couldn't afford to stay silent. "Help! Help me! I'm stuck, the door won't open!" The girl exclaimed, "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you outta there, okay?" Ranboo responded, he took a deep breath and teleported into the room. When he got in the room he was met with an overwhelming amount of fire, Ranboo looked around the room and saw a little girl curled up in the corner of the room. "Hey, c'mon we gotta get you outta here," he said. He picked the little girl up and was about to teleport out of the room when he heard a loud crack then the whole roof came falling on them.
When he opened his eyes, they were surrounded by fire. He tried using Coms, but they were down. Shit. The little girl began coughing. He needed to get them out of here. He couldn't teleport because it had a cool down, he could only teleport three times, then he would have to wait 5 minutes and they didn't have 5 minutes. Think. Think. Think. He looked around and spotted a window. He would have to jump out the window. "Okay, I need you to take this-" he handed the little girl his jacket, "-And cover your face with it. I'm gonna break the window which will cause the fire to get bigger, so we're gonna have to jump out of the window." He explained, and the little girl nodded. Ranboo took a deep breath, "Ready?" the little girl gave a short nod and Ranboo broke the window.
Instantly they were overwhelmed with smoke. Ranboo grabbed the little girl and jumped.
For a moment, Ranboo could've sworn he was flying. He didn't notice that he was until he heard a voice, "Thought we lost you, mate." Ranboo gasped when he heard Corvus speaking to him. They were set on the ground and the girl was taken out of his arms and put onto a stretcher. Tubbo ran up to him, “Oh my god! I thought you were dead! Now c’mon, we gotta go before the heroes start harassing us to join the hero committee.” Ranboo nodded and in an instant, they fled from the scene.
Once they got home Ranboo fell onto the couch, "Holy shit, are you guys okay!? I heard everything," Tommy asked, "Oh my god Tommy, it was crazy! One minute everything had been fine then we lost him on coms and like half of the fucking building collapsed! I thought he was dead!" Tubbo exclaimed. He flopped onto the couch and sighed, "Welp, I think that was a successful night, wouldn't you agree?" Ranboo made a noise of agreement. "Say, we make a good team, don't we Ray?" Tubbo elbowed his side. Ranboo lifted his head off of the couch to see that Tubbo was smiling at him. Ranboo smiled back, "Call me Ranboo, and yeah."
"Yeah, we do."
Notes:
YOOO WASSUP GUYS, sorry for the long wait, had a lot of stuff going on but I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. It's 4AM rn and I am extremely tried so, if it seems like some words are missing or anything like that, you know why. I'll probably fix them when I wake up, but as always, I love you all, until next time friends! :)
Chapter 4: Do I Know you?
Summary:
Wilbur then left the alley and continued on with his patrol, still trying to figure out where he had seen that face.
The retelling of the last two chapters from Wilbur's point of view.
Chapter Text
The patrol was going, as usual, Wilbur had decided to patrol the lower districts tonight. It was going well until a bright light blinded him. “What the” He ran to where it came from, he expected to see that something was on fire, not an unconscious kid and a homeless-looking man with a burn mark on his chest. He kneeled beside the kid, he didn’t seem to have any injuries, “Hey, kid are you okay?” no response, “Kid, can you hear me?” the kid groaned in response, “What the fuck?” he sat up and swayed a little. “What happened? Are you okay?” Wil asked and the boy grunted, “I’m fine, that asshole tried to mug me while I was walking home from work.” The kid seemed a little dazed, and Wilbur could’ve sworn he’d seen this kid before. “Are you sure you’re, okay? You seem kinda out of it.” Where had he seen this kid before? “I’m fine.” The kid turned to leave but Wilbur grabbed him, “I-uh, be safe.” he said, “Yeah, whatever.” The boy snatched his hand out of Wilbur’s grip and practically ran out of the alley.
Wilbur facepalmed, Be safe? Really? He probably freaked the kid out by grabbing him like that but, he felt like he had met that kid before. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a groan. Wilbur sighed, called the police, and told them where the criminal was, he then left the alley and continued with his patrol, still trying to figure out where he had seen that face.
Wilbur looked up at the familiar building. He hadn’t been here in a while; he missed the days when Phil would bring him and Techno to the cafe. They had been teenagers then; life was a little easier. Now though, he and Techno were high-ranking heroes, they didn’t have time for those kinds of things anymore. Wilbur breathed in the scent of coffee and sighed. He walked up to the counter and-
“Welcome to Lovely Cafe, what can I get you?”
It was the same kid from the alley. He must’ve been staring because the kid frowned at him, “Are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to order something?” he said, snapping Wilbur out of his haze, “Shit, sorry. I uh, thought you looked familiar.” he explained, “Sounds like a very handsome and respectable man. Anyway, are you gonna order something or are you just gonna continue to stare at me like a creep?” the kid responded. Wilbur raised his eyebrows in surprise and snorted. This kid had a sharp tongue. “Can I get a triple shot latte for Wilbur?” he said, the kid scrunched up his nose, “What kind of person names their kid Wilbur? That’s such a shit name.” the kid sounded genuinely disgusted, “Hey! At least I don’t have a generic name like Thomas." Wilbur responded looking at the kid’s nametag. Thomas rolled his eyes and gave him his total.
Wilbur sat at a table next to the window and pulled out his laptop, he might as well do some work while he’s here. His father was still working on the Logstedshire case and asked him to look into a few people. He and Techno had been trying to figure out what happened to people in Logsted to no avail, a whole city filled with people destroyed with no sign of life having ever been there. It was like the people that lived there never existed in the first place.
It was puzzling, to say the least, and it was stressing his father out. “Triple shot latte for Wilbur,” Thomas called out, sliding it onto the pickup. Wil took the drink and paused when he caught a glimpse of the name written on it. Bitch Boy! Wilbur snorted, “How nice of you,” he said as he took a sip of the drink, “I know, I’m very nice, one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.” Wilbur rolled his eyes, “Yeah, whatever, I’ll see you around Thomas.” he waved, leaving the cafe.
After that day Wilbur continued to come to the cafe every day when he had free time, whether it be before work or during his lunch break, he would be there. He started to take a liking to Thomas or Tommy as the boy preferred. Sure, the kid had rough edges, but he had a caring nature and that’s what Wil liked about him. Every time he came into the cafe though he felt someone watching him, Tommy mentioned something about his brother. Ray was it? Yeah, Ray. Wilbur had guessed that he was the one watching him from afar. For what? Wilbur didn’t know but he would find out sooner or later.
Wilbur sighed and put his head down, he had been working all week non-stop doing paperwork. There was a situation a few days ago involving Poison Princess that resulted in 8 police officers being killed and 10 injured. They got there just as the vigilantes known as Lunar Eclipse and Supernova left, though the latter seemed to be hurt. He remembered the panicked look Lunar had on their face before disappearing in a flurry of purple particles. Well, he couldn’t see their face, but he could see the panic in their eyes.
The two vigilantes appeared a month after the destruction of Logstedshire. They quickly became known as The Superstars and became “heroes” for the lower districts. Supernova had the power of Energy Manipulation, while Lunar Eclipse had the power of Teleportation. They would make great heroes, but alas, they had rejected his offer when asked, but Wilbur wouldn’t take no for an answer. He would continue to try and recruit them no matter what.
Wilbur sighed as he stood up from his desk. He hadn’t had a chance to stop by the cafe due to work but today he finally had free time, so he decided to spend it at the cafe. Before he left, he poked his head into Techno’s office “I’m going to get coffee you want any?” he asked, “Just get me a black coffee.” his brother answered without even looking up, “K, I’ll be back.” Techno didn’t respond and continued to type away on his computer, Wilbur took that as his cue to leave. He didn’t bother asking his father, knowing the man didn’t like coffee, he claimed that it tasted funny. Since he didn’t have a car (Phil confiscated it after a certain incident that will not be talked about) he had to take the bus, Wilbur didn’t mind it though because he liked to observe the people that also took the bus.
As the bus began to make its way toward the next stop, he made note of the other people on the bus. A teenage girl with black hair and blue tips sketches a picture of a boy with blue eyes while he sits next to her staring out the window unaware of her presence. He sees a young woman with her child curled up in her arms and a man in a fancy-looking suit. An elderly woman is reading a book with a young girl sitting next to her secretly trying to read with her. The woman tilts the book ever so slightly so the girl can see. There are a lot of different people on the bus but a person, in particular, catches his eye as the bus stops, a man with icy blue eyes gets on the bus as Wilbur gets off and suddenly the air is colder than usual. He looked a little suspicious with his hood pulled over his head and his hands in his pockets. They locked eyes and Wilbur felt a chill run down his spine. They stared at each other before the bus finally pulled off.
Something was…off about him but Wilbur decided not to think about it too hard and started towards the cafe. He was excited to see Tommy after a long week of work, and he was starting to get attached to him. Wilbur walked into the cafe expecting to see a familiar blue-eyed blonde but instead, he saw someone different. “Welcome to Lovely Cafe, how can I help you?” Oh, so this was Ray, but where was Tommy? “Oh, hi, can I get a triple shot latte for Wilbur?”
“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, where’s Tommy?” he asked, Ray looked up at him with a look Wilbur couldn’t place. “Oh, he’s out sick.” Ray responded, “Oh, is-is he okay? I hope he gets better.” Wilbur said, “Yeah, he’ll be out for a while but he’s okay.” Wilbur nodded, “When you see him, tell him I said hi.” Ray nodded and gave him his total. As Wilbur walked away, he could feel those brown and green eyes staring at him, scrutinizing him. He sat at the same table as always and began to scroll on his phone. There was a lot of news about the killings at the bank, so much so that Wilbur turned off his phone because it was too much. He was frustrated with himself for not getting there quicker, if he had maybe he could’ve prevented all those deaths. Maybe if he had left earlier, he could’ve stopped Princess, then Supernova wouldn’t’ve gotten hurt. Maybe-
“Don’t beat yourself up, there’s nothing you could’ve done.” Phil had said. Right, there was nothing he could’ve done. Wilbur suddenly remembered that Techno wanted coffee too so he got up and walked over to the register where Ray, who was making Wilbur’s drink, seemed to be in deep thought, “Excuse me,” Wilbur said, seemingly snapping the boy out of his thoughts “Uh, sorry but can I also get a black coffee?” he asked, “Just a black coffee?” Wilbur nodded, “It’s uh not for me but my brother. He’s working overtime and asked me to get him some coffee.” he explained, Ray just nodded and started brewing the coffee. While waiting Wilbur tried to make small talk, “So, you’re Tommy's brother, right?” Ray hummed, “How long have you guys been working here?” he asked, “About 6 months,” Ranboo replied, “Cool, cool,” They stood in awkward silence until the coffee was ready, “Here’s your coffee, have a nice day.” Ray said, handing him his coffee. Wilbur thanked him and gave him a small smile before leaving the cafe.
When Wilbur got back to the tower, Techno was in the lounge reading a book. Wilbur sat next to him and sighed, “Did you get your Tommy time?” Techno asked grabbing his coffee from Wilbur, “No, he’s out sick.” Wil replied sadly, “Got to meet Ranboo though,” Techno hummed, “Really?” he said, not looking up from his book, “Yeah, I don’t think he likes me very much.” Wilbur sighed, “I wonder why,” Techno said sarcastically and Wilbur gasped, “Are you suggesting that I am not a likable person!? How dare you, all have you know the people like me very much.” he pouted. Techno rolled his eyes and continued to read his book.
Wilbur vowed to himself that he would get Ray to like him.
....
For the next few days, Wilbur tried to talk to Ray but he just shut him down every time, answering his questions with short responses or stating that he had to get back to work. Wilbur didn’t give up though, he kept trying. He was going to make another attempt but instead of seeing Ranboo at the register he saw a familiar blonde, “Tommy!” he exclaimed. Tommy immediately looked up from the register, “Oh, it’s you again.” Wilbur smiled, “I missed you man! Ray told me you were sick,” he said, leaning on the counter, “Yeah, it was just a cold. I’m assuming the usual?” Tommy said, grabbing a cup and starting on his drink, “Aww, you memorized my order?” Wilbur said, “Well of course I did, you’re here every day, you drilled it into my fucking head.” Tommy continued, “Speaking of which, why weren’t you here last week?” he asked, “I was busy with work. Why, did you miss me?” Wilbur teased. Tommy’s face turned bright red, “N-No! Why would I miss an asshole like you?” he stuttered, “Aww, you did miss me.” Wilbur cooed, “No I didn’t!” Tommy insisted, “Aww, c’mere,” he went around the counter to hug Tommy, but he flinched back. Uh, oh. Did he cross the line?
“Sorry, I-”
“It’s fine,”
“Are you-”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Because-”
“It’s fine Wilbur, I’m fine.” Tommy gave him a reassuring smile, well tried to. Though, before Wilbur could say anything else someone called his name.
“Wilbur! How ya doin’ man?” Tubbo greeted, “Tubbo, nice to see you! I’ve been well, how’ve you been?” Wilbur replied, “Wait, you guys know each other?” Tommy questioned, “Yeah, he works at the Hero Tower so-”
“You work at the Hero Tower!?” Tommy exclaimed; customers were now staring. Wilbur laughed nervously, “Yeah but could you not be so loud about it-”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tommy asked, “Well I didn’t think it was that important-”
“You didn’t think it was important that you worked at the Hero Tower?” Ray asked, sounding unimpressed.
Shitshitshit
“I-Well-” Wilbur stuttered, “I’m sure it was only because of confidentiality. Right, Wilbur?” Tubbo interjected, “Uh, yeah, right right.” Phew, saved by Tubbo, though, he could tell Ranboo was suspicious.
“So, Wilbur, do you know Corvus?” Tommy asked, “I don’t work directly with the heroes but I’m sure I can ask him to sign something for you.” Wilbur replied, “Really!?” Wilbur nodded, and Tommy’s eyes lit up, “Oh, thank you, Wilbur! You’re the best, the poggest of all men, after Corvus of course, oh and Saber.” Tommy said, he then continued to talk about how cool Saber was while Wilbur listened with a fond smile on his face. Man, he loved this kid, and he would do anything to make sure Tommy was safe and happy but to properly do that he needed Tommy’s trust, and Ray’s, mostly the latter. For some reason Ray didn’t seem to trust him, Well he was a stranger, and y’know, stranger danger! But he had tried to befriend Ray but he just didn’t seem to like him! Maybe he needed to prove to Ray that he was trustworthy, but how? Wilbur chose not to think about it right now, instead, he just listened to Tommy talk.
That night, Wilbur was on patrol doing his usual duties when he saw smoke in the distance. Upon getting closer to it, he saw that a large apartment complex was on fire. Shit. “There’s a fire on Jubilee Avenue, I need backup.” he said, “Sending back up now.” the responder said and in a matter of minutes Phil showed up with Niki in tow. “That was fast,” he said, “We were nearby.” Phil shrugged, “Okay now, Niki, you try and put out the fire, Wil calm down the civilians while I try and get the remaining people out of the building. Sound good?” Everyone nodded and Phil flew off.
It was fairly easy at first since the fire wasn’t that big. Niki was working on putting out the fire while Wilbur used his powers to calm the people down and get farther away from the fire Phil got more people out of the building, but then another fire broke out and blew half of the windows out making the fire bigger. Niki tried putting it out to no avail, Fire trucks soon arrived and tried to help but they did nothing. Soon the fire was too big, and Phil couldn’t go back in, but he was fairly sure that everyone was safe. That was until a woman started to scream, “My baby! My baby is still in there!” She screamed, “Ma’am, what floor is your child on?” Wilbur asked, “She’s on the seventh floor, please save her, please!” she screamed, “Ma’am we’re doing all we can right now.” Wilbur assured, “My baby girl is up there!” The woman yelled, “Yes, I know and I can assure you she will be brought back to you safe and sound, but for now I need you to calm down." The woman immediately quieted down and Wilbur cursed, “Hey, is there any way you could save a little girl on the seventh floor?” he asked, “Nope, the fire is too big, my wings would be burnt to a crisp.” Phil’s voice crackled through the earpiece. Shit.
Just then Lunar Eclipse and Atomic Wave showed up. “Lunar Eclipse, Atomic Wave, nice of you to show up.” Wilbur connected to their coms, “Well wouldn’t’ve had to if you guys were doing your job.” Atomic Wave snarked and just before Wilbur could say something back Phil cut in, “I assume you all know the situation already.” he said, “Yup, Lunar is already on the move searching for the girl.” Great, they have the one who doesn’t even talk, looking for a little girl. While they were waiting Wilbur tried to make small talk, “So, are you guys like working together now?” he asked, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” The vigilante responded, “Good to know, good to know.”
After a little while, Wilbur started to get a little worried as the building was starting to crumble, “Uh, Lunar? You alright in there?” No response, then half the building crumbled making a huge dust cloud. Fuck, “Is everyone okay?” he asked, “We’re fine but what about Lunar?” Niki said, “His coms are down. Corvus, could you go up to the seventh-floor windows and see if you can find Lunar and the girl?” the vigilante ordered, Phil did as he was asked and looked through the windows, “I can’t see anything, there’s too much smoke. Mate, I don’t think-” Just then Lunar came flying out of the window with the little girl in his hands. Phil caught them and put them on the ground. The girl was instantly taken and put onto a stretcher, From afar Wilbur could see the woman thanking the vigilantes before they fled the scene.
Wilbur just watched them run away before leaving with Phil and Niki.
Punz sighed as he stared up at the Three Lives Hero Agency. This was gonna be one hell of a mission.
Notes:
Hey guys! So, I'm back, had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. It was gonna be posted way earlier than this but what I had written out didn't fit with this chapter, so I decided to scrap that idea and save it for a later chapter, which set me back a lot.
It was a little difficult to write this chapter because I had no idea what to write about, but I took some time to brainstorm, and while doing that I had a lot of great ideas for this fic and future ones. On top of that, I watched the new Stranger Things season, and I was just filled with inspiration, I can't wait for you guys to see what I have planned for this fic.Anyways, it's like 5 am rn and I think I've done enough babbling, please comment your thoughts on this chapter, I would love to hear what you guys think (as long as they are kind.) And as always, have a great day/night wherever you are, happy pride! I love you all, until next time friends!
Chapter 5: Trust Me
Summary:
There are those two words again. 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑒 “But I can’t.” Tommy said, “What?” Tommy looked at Wilbur with teary eyes, “I can’t trust you, Wilbur. I-I just-I can’t.” he said, “Why? What did I do?” Wilbur asked sounding genuinely hurt, “I just- I’ve heard those exact words before, and I got hurt. And I can’t-I won’t take that chance again."
Chapter Text
It was a slow day at the cafe, only a few customers were sitting at the tables chatting away leaving Tommy alone with his thoughts. He’d been staring out of the window for God knows how long watching the raindrops hit the window, he had always hated the rain, it made it harder to fly t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶b̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ and because it reminded him of his first week in hell.
--------------------------------------------
Tommy grunted as he was pushed into the mud, he tried to get up but was met by a kick to the stomach. He cried as Dream kicked him again, “Aww what’s wrong? You wanted to be tough earlier so c’mon,” he said as Tommy struggled to get up, “Show me how tough you are.” Lighting flashed as Tommy stared up at the man, he took a breath before jumping up and running at Dream attempting to punch him, but he easily dodged it. Tommy tried to hit him again but Dream quickly grabbed Tommy’s arm and twisted it making Tommy cry out in pain. Dream punched him in the stomach and Tommy fell to the ground, Tommy attempted to get up, but Dream delivered a sharp kick to his chest knocking him to the ground once again. Dream laughed as Tommy cried out in pain, “Pathetic.” He picked Tommy up by his collar, “Listen to me very carefully Tommy because I’m only gonna say this once.” Dream threatened, “Don’t you ever, disobey me again or I’ll do more than just break a few ribs. Is that understood?” Tommy nodded, “I want a verbal answer, Tommy.” Dream snapped, “Yes, sir.” Tommy said softly and Dream dropped him. Tommy struggled to breathe and coughed up blood, “I’ll send someone to come and get you.” Dream then left a cold, wet, and bloody Tommy alone in the woods waiting for someone to come and take the pain away.
-------------------------------------------------
“-ommy? Hellooo, earth to Tommy!” Wilbur’s voice brought Tommy back to the present, “Oh, hey Wil.” he said, “What’s wrong? You seem a little down today.” Tommy shook his head and started on Wil’s coffee, “C’mon, what’s wrong?” Tommy sighed, “Nothing, just thinking.” Wilbur motioned for him to continue, “I-It’s raining.” Wilbur furrowed his brows in confusion, “Yeah? What about it?” he asked. Tommy handed him his drink and sighed, “I’ve had a few…. Bad experiences in the rain.” Tommy said though it was an extreme understatement. “Oh, well I have just the thing to cheer you up,” Wilbur said, pulling his phone out, “I made a playlist that would cheer me up whenever I was down, like I would listen to it, and BAM! All my problems would disappear. I’ll send it to you.” Tommy was pretty sure that a playlist wouldn’t make his trauma magically disappear, but he appreciated the sentiment, he gave Wilbur a small smile, “Thanks, Wil.” Wilbur smiled back, “No problem.”
"Okay now, let me tell you about the time me and Techno pranked Phil-"
..........
Tommy huffed as he walked down the street in the pouring rain. He missed his bus and the next one wouldn't arrive for another hour so here he was, walking home in the pouring rain. A car drove past splashing him with water, great. Now he was even wetter than before. Just as Tommy began to walk again an expensive-looking car pulled up next to him. As the window rolled down Tommy expected to see some rich snob but was surprised to see Wilbur, “Need a ride?” Tommy smiled and immediately got into the car.
As Tommy jumped into the backseat someone groaned, “Bruhhh, my seats, I just got them cleaned.” Wilbur rolled his eyes, “You can just get them cleaned again.” he said, “But I just got them cleaned.” The mysterious voice said, “No one cares about your seats Techno.” Wait, “You’re his brother!?” Tommy exclaimed, “Unfortunately,” Techno drawled. There was no way that this was the Techno Blaid Watson Wilbur always talked about, this man looked like he could snap Tommy in half with no effort. Techno had long pink hair, just as Wilbur described but he hadn’t told Tommy that his brother was built like the fucking Hulk! “So, Tommy where you headed?” Wilbur asked, “District 18.” The was a moment of silence before Wilbur spoke again, “District 18?” he asked, “Yup, that’s where I live.” Tommy replied, Wilbur and Techno gave each other a look before Techno pulled away from the sidewalk and started driving.
“So, what do you do for work Techno?” Tommy asked, “You have to be something like a bodybuilder, or a bodyguard. Oh! What about a ninja? Are you a ninja? I bet you’re a ninja.” Techno snorted and shook his head but didn’t say anything, so Tommy took that as a yes, “Tommy what were you doing out in the rain?” Wilbur asked, “I was walking home since I missed my bus and I didn’t have time to wait another hour.” he replied, “So you were gonna walk from District 14 to District 18?” Techno questioned and Tommy just shrugged, “I’ve walked farther.” He has actually, just to get into the city he and Ranboo had to walk, well run, all the way from Logstedshire. “You could’ve gotten sick. Just call me next time, and I’ll have Techno pick you up.” Tommy rolled his eyes, “Ok Mom.” Wilbur opened his mouth to say something else when Techno abruptly spoke up, “Tommy how old are you?” he asked, “Uh, eighteen why?” Tommy replied, “There is no way you’re eighteen,” Wilbur said, “You look like a child! You have to be like fifteen or sixteen.” Even though Wilbur was right Tommy couldn’t blow his cover, “Hey, fuck you! I’m an adult, just because I don’t look old like you doesn’t mean you can make fun of me!” Tommy exclaimed, “Hey, I’m not old! I’m only twenty-seven!” Wilbur argued, “You’re balding Wil,” Wilbur reached up and touched his hair, “What? No, I’m not.” he said, “You’re in denial and that’s okay.” Tommy said. He and Wilbur continued to argue with Techno making the occasional comment until they reached a certain street. “Oh, make a left here.” Tommy directed Techno to go down the street, and Tommy’s apartment came into view. “Welp, this is my stop. Thanks for the ride!” Tommy said as he hopped out of the car.
Tommy ran up the stairs, skipping two at a time. Once he got to the door he burst into the apartment where Ranboo was pacing around the living room/kitchen area. He looked up as soon as Tommy entered the apartment, “Where have you been and- Why are you soaking wet?” He asked, “I missed the bus.” Tommy answered, “Why didn’t you call me? I was worried.” Ranboo questioned, “My phone died, but don’t worry big man, Wilbur dropped me off.” Tommy said, slipping off his wet shoes, those were definitely ruined. “You told him where we live!?” Ranboo half yelled, “Well yeah, he asked me if I needed a ride and-”
“Do you know how dangerous that is!?” Ranboo cut him off, “It was raining, and he offered me a ride-”
“He could’ve kidnapped you!”
“Wilbur wouldn't do that!”
“You don’t know that!” Ranboo yelled and Tommy shrunk back. Ranboo sighed, “I’m sorry, but you know I worry Tommy, some people out there are dangerous, and I just want to keep you safe.” He said, “I know, but Wilbur’s not like that I promise. If you just get to know him, I’m sure you’ll like him.” Tommy said, “But-”
“Just try, please.” Ranboo sighed, “Okay I’ll try,” Tommy smiled, “Now, go take a shower. We have stuff to do tonight.”
......
Ranboo and Tommy walked into their base, which was previously an abandoned warehouse that they renovated a little over a month ago. After the fire incident, Ranboo’s gear was unsalvageable and Tubbo offered to make both of them new gear since their gear wasn’t all that good in the first place, then he offered to help them out with their little night routine, and they’ve been a team ever since.
Tubbo looked up from his computer, “Ah, there you guys are! C’mon, we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight.” He said, Ranboo and Tommy looked at each other, “Well don’t just stand there! Get your asses over here!” Tubbo said and both boys did as told. He pulled up a map of the city on the projector and circled District 19, “The crime rates have been skyrocketing in District 19 lately and the heroes are doing nothing about it.” Ranboo rolled his eyes, “As usual,” he murmured, “And since they aren’t doing their jobs and helping out,” Tubbo said, “We have to.” Tommy sighed, “You guys better get ready, tonight's gonna be a longgg night.”
.......
Tommy sighed as he sat on the edge of a rooftop, They had been out fighting crime for about 4-5 hours now and both boys were exhausted. “Dude, we are so gonna regret this in the morning.” Tommy yawned and Ranboo hummed in agreement. “Hang in there guys, This is the last one for the night I promise.” Tubbo said, “What is it?” Tommy asked. A bit of typing could be heard before Tubbo spoke up, “There’s a robbery going on at 7/11.” he said, “It seems like the guy has a gun so be careful.” Tommy jumped up and took a minute to stretch before sighing, “Alright, let's do this.”
Arriving at the location Tommy and Ranboo hid in an alley, “Okay, I’ll go in and distract him while you come from behind. Sound good?” Ranboo gave a short nod, and they began putting the plan into motion. Switching on his voice changer Tommy walked through the automatic doors, “Are you robbing a 7/11?” He said causing the robber to jump and point his gun at Tommy, “Wha-What do you want?” The robber said, “I just wanna know why you decided to rob a 7/11 out of all places. Like, you could’ve robbed any grocery store or even the bank, but you chose 7/11?” Tommy spoke. The robber cocked his gun, “I-I’ll shoot you.” Tommy snorted, from the way the robber was shaking he wasn’t gonna shoot anyone, “Sure you will,” He could see Ranboo creeping up from behind, “I’m not kidding.” The guy said, “Do you want me to pull the trigger for you? Or…” Tommy asked and before the robber could say anything Ranboo knocked him out.
While Ranboo tied the guy up Tommy made sure that the cashier was unharmed, “Thank you so much.” The cashier said, “No need to thank us we’re just doing our job.” Tommy said. He could hear sirens in the distance and that was their cue to leave, Tommy grabbed onto Ranboo, and just as the police burst through the doors, guns aimed straight at them, Ranboo teleported away leaving the police with the criminal.
After getting far enough from the store Tommy broke out into laughter, “Did you see that guy!? He was shaking in his boots!” he laughed, “I’ll ShOoT yOu” Tommy mocked, and he continued to roll around laughing at how scared the guy was and Ranboo shook his head. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Tommy to pause, “Am I interrupting something?” Tommy immediately jumped up; he pulled out his baton while Ranboo withdrew his knives. “What do you want?” Tommy asked the hero,
“I’m not here to fight,” he said but both boys remained on guard, “I just wanna talk.” Specter said, “About?” Tommy asked, “Becoming heroes, I think you two would do really well–
“I’m gonna stop you right there. We have no interest in becoming heroes, Specter. How many times do we have to tell you that?” Tommy said, “Why though? You two do so well as vigilantes, why not become official heroes?” The hero asked, “Because–” It’d be harder for us to disappear. “We don’t wanna be slaves to the government. Plus, we’re doing just fine as vigilantes.” Tommy responded, “You know I won’t take no for an answer.” Specter said. “Then we’ll just keep rejecting your offer,” Tommy said.
The pair then teleported away, leaving the hero on the rooftop.
The next morning Tommy woke up feeling horrible. His back ached from being slammed into a wall by some asshole dude trying to kidnap a kid and he had a slight black eye, Ranboo didn’t look so good either with a split lip and a huge bruise on his arm. Both boys walked around the house like zombies trying to get ready for the long day that was ahead of them.
Arriving at work both boys were stopped by a concerned Puffy and Niki, “What happened to you, boys?” Puffy asked grabbing Tommy’s face and looking over it,
“I got mugged.”
“I fell off my bike.”
They said at the same time, “I uh, fell off my bike and he got mugged.” Ranboo answered, “Well c’mon, let’s get you two cleaned up.” Niki said leading them both to the back room.
Both women seemed to have a quiet conversation before Puffy went to the back room to grab the first aid kit while Niki led Ranboo to sit down at a table. Tommy took it upon himself to sit on the countertop. Once Puffy got back she gave him an ice pack for his eye and started to tend to the cuts on his legs. Watching Puffy clean his cuts reminded him of simpler times.
--------------------------------------
Tommy winced as Clementine dabbed the cut with a cotton ball, “I’m almost done.” she said. Tommy squeezed his eyes shut as Clementine bandaged his knee, “There, does that feel better?” she asked, and Tommy nodded, “Be more careful next time, I can’t have my little star being hurt.” Tommy giggled at the nickname. Clementine picked him up off the counter and put him on her hip, “Now, what does the star want for dinner?”
-------------------------------------
Tommy was snapped back to the present by a stinging, he winced and Puffy apologized as she bandaged the cut, “Is there anything else that hurts?” she asked, “Other than my eye, no.” Tommy lied; he didn’t want Puffy worrying more than she already was. Puffy sighed, uh oh, that’s not good. That’s never good, “Tommy what happened?” she asked, “What do you mean?” He knew exactly what she meant. “I know you didn’t get mugged, and I know Ray didn’t fall off of his bike.” She said, “Puffy, I’m telling you some asshole mugged me.” Puffy stood up. Shit, “Tommy, you boys came into my cafe half dead six months ago searching for a place to stay and I gave you one. Every time you’ve come in here all beat up, I’ve helped you, no questions asked.” She continued, “Now, I’m not asking for anything in return. I just want to help, and I can’t help you without knowing what’s going on so, please, just tell me what happened. You can trust me, I promise.” Tommy had heard those exact words before, and it hadn't turned out well for either him or Ranboo. Though he knew Puffy was a good person at heart he just couldn’t take that chance again. So, he lied. “Puffy, you’re right, Ray didn’t fall off his bike. He actually fell down the stairs, he just didn’t want to admit it because it was pretty embarrassing. He like flew down the stairs and-”
Puffy sighed and shook her head. She gave him a strained smile, “Ok Tommy, I believe you. Now get to work, we’re opening in a few minutes.” Tommy nodded and hopped off the counter, quickly throwing on his apron and getting ready for his shift.
.......
Tommy was trying his best not to pass out. He only had 30 more minutes until his shift ended, he just had to stay awake until then. He could do that, right? He looked at the time, 30 minutes felt like a lifetime away. Tommy banged his head against the counter, he wished Foolish would get here early so he could go home. “You okay there?” Wilbur asked and Tommy shook his head. “What’s wrong?” Tommy lifted his head and Wilbur’s eyes widened, “What happened!?” he exclaimed, “I got mugged.” Tommy lied, “Plus, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” At least that was true, “You need a break.” Wilbur said, “Sleep is what I need.”
“When’s your shift over?” Wilbur asked, “In like, 27 minutes. Why?” Tommy answered, “Wanna hang out after?” Wilbur asked, “I don’t know Wil, I’m really tired.” Tommy said, “We could like chill out at the park or something.” Wilbur suggested, “I don’t know,” Wilbur pouted, “C’mon please?” he begged, Tommy rolled his eyes, “Fine,” Wilbur smiled, “But I have to ask Ray first.”
“Ask me what?” Ranboo asked suddenly appearing behind Wilbur causing him to jump in surprise, “Wil wanted to hang out.” Tommy answered, “Oh yeah, that’s fine with me.” Ranboo said, “Y’know you can come with us if you want.” Wilbur said but Ranboo shook his head, “I’m fine thank you. I was just gonna go home and get some rest. You two have fun though.” He gave Tommy a look that told him to be careful and Tommy responded with his own look saying, I will. With Ranboo’s permission, Tommy was excited to hang out with Wilbur, now he really couldn’t wait until his shift was over. Wilbur got his usual and sat at his usual table waiting for Tommy’s shift to end.
Once Foolish came in Tommy practically threw his apron off and hurried over to Wilbur, “So, where are we going?” he asked and Wilbur chuckled, “I see you’re excited.” he said, “How do milkshakes and the park sound?” Wilbur asked, “Sounds great!” Tommy’s stomach then growled, “As long as we get some food too.” Wilbur laughed and they left the cafe.
....
Walking into ‘Sam’s diner’ which Wilbur claimed to be the “best place to get milkshakes” they were met by a green-haired man who Tommy assumed to be Sam. He had gray-blueish eyes and a bit of a beard. “Sam, my man!” Wilbur called, “Wilbur! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Sam asked, “I was just here to introduce Tommy to the best milkshakes he’ll ever have.” Sam then looked down at Tommy, who was a little bit taller than him, “Oh, hello Tommy, I’m Sam.” he said. Tommy just waved in response, “So, what can I get you both today?” Tommy looked up at the menu, there were so many options to choose from. Tommy just ended up getting a strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate swirl while Wilbur got banana chocolate with an order of fries. After getting their milkshakes Wilbur led them to a park, it was nicer than the one in District 16 and more peaceful.
Sitting down on a bench Tommy took a sip of his milkshake and his eyes instantly widened, “It’s good isn’t it.” It was more than good; it was the best damn milkshake Tommy had ever had! Though, considering Tommy hadn’t had a milkshake since he was five the bar was pretty low. Tommy watched as Wilbur took the lid off of his milkshake and dipped his fries into it with curiosity, “What, have you never dipped your fries into your milkshake?” He asked and Tommy shook his head. Wilbur gasped dramatically, “Oh, you need to try this.” he said handing the bucket of fries to Tommy. He took some fries and dipped them into Wilbur’s milkshake, and he was amazed at how good it tasted. He grabbed more fries and dipped them into his milkshake and Wilbur laughed, “Wot?” Tommy said with a mouth full of fries, “I’m just laughing at how amazed you are at everything.” Wilbur replied, “I live in District 18, Wilbur. Do I look like someone who can afford to come to District 11 just to buy a milkshake and fries?” Tommy said, “Well, what about your childhood?” Tommy shook his head, “We didn’t have much back then either, we lived in a small town in a small house. It was nice though.”
“Tell me about it.” Wilbur said, “What?” Tommy asked, “Your childhood, tell me about it.” he said. “Well, we lived in a small cottage in the countryside in a little town called Yellow Valley. It was just me, my mom, Ran-Ray, and our older sister Clementine. Um, there was a huge field of sunflowers behind our house that Clementine used to take us to, and we would play hide and seek.” Tommy chuckled at the memory, “She-She used to say that I had the advantage of camouflage because I blended in with the flowers.” he giggled, “I uh, I remember that my mom used to tell us stories about the adventures she and my dad would take, and I wanted to be just like him.”
“What happened to your dad?” Wilbur asked, “He uh died before I was born.” Tommy answered, “Oh, I’m sorry.” Tommy waved him off, “It’s fine, I think I have a picture of both my parents from when my mom was pregnant with me. I’ll try to find it so I can show it to you if you want.” Wilbur nodded, “That would be great.” he smiled, “So, what happened to your mother?” Wilbur asked. “Oh, I-I’d rather not talk about it, if that’s ok.”
Tommy could still hear the screams of the townspeople as his home was burned to the ground echo in his mind, the feeling of the scorching fire spreading throughout his house. He felt confused when Clementine rushed them out of the house telling them they had to run, but where was Momma? He remembers the horror he felt when he watched his house collapse with his mother still inside. We need to get momma but she’s in the house, and the house was on fire! They needed to get her out of there because the house was on fire and his momma was still in there and-
“That’s fine, what about your sister? Where is she?” Wilbur asked, “I, uh-” She was shot and killed six months ago. She was killed in front of me while I sat there doing nothing. No, that is not what happened. She could still be alive, you never know! She’s dead and you know it. Stop lying to yourself. No. Dream killed her; you saw it with your own eyes. No, she-she could still be alive. Just face it. Clementine. Is. Dead.
“It’s fine if you don’t wanna talk about that either.” Wilbur said, “You can just tell me stories if you want.” He supplied and Tommy smiled grateful that Wilbur didn't force him to talk about it and started to tell more stories from his childhood.
......
Tommy must’ve fallen asleep at some point because when opened his eyes he was blinded by the sunlight. He grunted and covered his eyes, someone giggled, “Good morning sunshine, did you sleep well?” Tommy’s eyes shot open.
DangerDangerDanger His instincts screamed.
Hadn’t heard that nickname in a long time. The only people that called him that were his mom and-
Dream.
But his mom was dead and Dream was-
“What’s the matter sunshine? You’re not scared, are you?”
No, he wasn’t scared.
“You sure? Because to me, it seems like you’re afraid of me.”
He wasn’t afraid, there was nothing to be afraid of.
He was, he was afraid. He was afraid that Dream would find them and take them back to the lab. He’s afraid Dream would punish him or maybe even worse.
“Seems to me like you’re scared.”
“Shut up, you’re not even here.
But wait- If Dream wasn’t here, then who was?
"-ommy? Tommy, breathe.” Mom? “Yes, just like that. In, 1, 2, 3, 4, you’re doing great.” No, Ranboo? “C’mon, keep going, just follow my lead.” Tommy finally realized who he was talking to, “Wilbur?”
“Hey,” Wilbur said softly, “You, okay? What happened?” he asked, “I-I’m fine,” Tommy lied even though he wanted to cry right now, “Tommy you just had a panic attack. Just tell me what’s wrong.” Wilbur said but Tommy stayed quiet, “Toms, what’s going on? I know there’s something you’re not telling me; I won’t force you to talk about anything you don’t want to, but I just want you to know that I’m here. I’m here for you and Ranboo whatever you need, I just want to help you, I promise that you can trust me.” There are those two words again. Trust me. “But I can’t.” Tommy said, “What?” Tommy looked at Wilbur with teary eyes, “I can’t trust you, Wilbur. I-I just-I can’t.” he said, “Why? What did I do?” Wilbur asked sounding genuinely hurt, “I just- I’ve heard those exact words before, and I got hurt. And I can’t-I won’t take that chance again. Don’t get me wrong Wilbur, I think that you’re a good guy, but I don’t know if I can ever fully trust you or anyone for that matter.” Tommy said softly, “I’m sorry,”
“Tommy-”
“I’m really sorry Wil, but I have to go.” Tommy pretended not to see the hurt look on Wilbur's face as he stood up and walked away.
. He tried his hardest not to burst into tears right then.
Tommy got on the bus and pretended not to see the way Wilbur deflated as the bus pulled away. The whole way home Tommy did his best to hold himself together, he wanted to trust Wilbur, and he wanted to trust Puffy too but, he just couldn’t. He couldn’t because Dream had said those exact words and he ruined their lives. He ruined their lives and Tommy hated him for it.
When Tommy got home, he opened the door and saw Ranboo on the couch reading a book, “Hey Tommy, how was hanging out with Wilbur?” he asked, and Tommy’s lip began to wobble. Ranboo immediately put the book down and opened his arms and Tommy ran into them. He just couldn’t hold it in anymore and broke down, “Did he hurt you?” Ranboo asked and Tommy shook his head, “Then what happened?” he asked, “I hate him.” Tommy sobbed, “I hate him so much, Ranboo.” Ranboo didn’t ask who he was talking about because he already knew, “I know, Tommy. I know, I do too.” Tommy continued to sob into his brother's arms while Ranboo held him.
“I do too.”
Tommy sat at the counter bored, Wilbur hadn’t come to the cafe today and he was partly grateful because he wasn’t sure if he could handle seeing Wilbur right now, though that did mean there was no one to talk to since Ranboo was busy cleaning tables. He sighed, this sucks. The bell on the door rang and Tommy said his signature phrase,
“Welcome to Lovely Cafe, what can I get you?”
“Tommy?”
Notes:
Oooo, a mysterious person at the end, I wonder who it could be.
Anyways, Hi guys! I'm finally not posting a chapter at 4 am so exciting I know!
But um, let me explain a few things in case anyone is confused.
Ranboo and Tommy aren't related by blood, he was adopted by Tommy's mother when he was left on her doorstep.
Ranboo is 17 and Tommy is 15.Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, I love you all, have a good day/night wherever you are, and until next time friends!
Chapter 6: Rest in Peace, Technoblade.
Chapter Text
I'm sure you all heard the news. It didn't feel right to not say anything after finding out about his passing and I didn't wanna post another chapter without saying anything. My heart hurts for Techno's family, friends, and anyone who knew him personally, I can't even imagine what they are going through, and I hope they're doing okay. When I saw the video, I was hoping it was some sort of sick joke, I wanted it to be a joke, but it's not. Techno was one of many people who inspired me to not give up, his content helped me through hard times, and for that, I will forever be grateful. He has done so much for the Minecraft community, his content brought people together and he made such a wonderful community. He saved so many lives just by being himself and playing Minecraft. I will continue to honor Techno's memory in this fic and future fics to come.
He may be dead, but he is not gone. Technoblade was a legend, and you know legends never die. He will forever be in our hearts and may he rest in eternal peace.
As always guys, take care of yourselves, hug your loved ones and tell them you love them. I love you all and I'll see you guys next time. ♡
Chapter 7: A Promise (that you can't keep)
Summary:
“I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner, but I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.” Ranboo pulled away to look at her, “Promise?” Clem gave him a warm smile, “Pinky promise.”
Notes:
DISCLAIMER! There is a lot of death and blood mentioned in the first part of this chapter so if you're not comfortable reading it I would suggest that you skip over that part. I will do a recap at the end of the chapter for those of you that do skip that part.
Anyway, enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The sound of his room door opening woke up Tommy, “Tommy,” Someone whispered, “Tommy wake up.” They said, “Wha?” Tommy mumbled, “Clementine? Wh-What’s going on?” he asked, “C’mon, get up. We have to go.” she said. Go? Go where? Tommy wanted to ask, but instead, he got out of bed, grabbed Henry the cow, and followed his sister out of the room.
They quietly made their way to a storage room where Ranboo was waiting. “Okay, you guys ready?” Clementine asked, “Ready for what? Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?” Tommy was extremely confused. He had just been woken up and snuck out of his room with no idea about what was happening. “We’re leaving.” Clementine answered, “What?” Did she not know how dangerous trying to escape could be? Did she not know the consequences of being caught while trying to escape? Tommy guessed she didn’t because the determined look on her face didn’t falter, She pulled out a controller and pressed a button which caused the collars on their necks to fall off, “We’re escaping this hellhole tonight.”
“What about the others?” Tommy asked, “We can’t just leave them here.” he said, “There are too many people to get, and we don’t have that much time.”
“But-”
“No buts,” she said, cutting Tommy off. She sighed, noticing the grim look on her brother's face, “Look, I know that leaving the others here seems cruel, but I promise we’ll come back for them. Okay?” Tommy nodded and reluctantly followed his siblings. The lab was like a maze; each hallway looked the same, making Tommy think they were walking in circles, though he trusted that Clementine knew where she was going. After what felt like hours of walking down similar-looking hallways, they reached a set of double doors, but they caught before they could go through them. “Hey! Stop right there!”
“Run!” Clementine shouted. They ran down the hallway, the guards shot at them, and Tommy cursed as a bullet grazed his arm, since he had his powers now, Tommy sent a huge power blast that caused the number of guards to lower, but he didn’t get too hopeful since he knew reinforcements would be coming soon. A siren went off signaling their escape and- shit. Dream would realize they were trying to escape. They continued to run, reinforcements came, but Tommy just kept blasting them down, and as the hallways got narrower and narrower the number of guards became fewer and fewer until there were only a couple behind them. As they made one last turn, Tommy saw a big black metal door at the end of the hall.
This was it; they were gonna escape! They would be free; they would be able to do whatever they wanted! Tommy would be able to do whatever he wanted, free of punishment. Oh, he would be able to eat anything, like a burger and fries. Oh! And a milkshake, he hadn’t had a milkshake in years, but once they got out of there, he would be sure they stopped by the nearest place to get a milkshake. All of that would become true once they walked through the door at the end of this hall-
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Dream was standing at the end of the hall.
He was standing at the end of the hall, blocking the way to freedom.
Ranboo and Tommy turned to run in the opposite direction, but the guards blocked their way, some with shock sticks others pointing guns at them. Dream laughed as Clementine and Ranboo shielded Tommy from each side.
“Did you think you could escape that easily?” he said as he took a step forward. “Don’t you dare take another step,” Clementine growled, “Or what?” Ranboo and Clem shared a look, and just like that, everything turned to chaos.
Clementine activated her powers while Ranboo disappeared in a flurry of purple particles. Suddenly things escalated very quickly as Clementine was using her water to kill the guards while Tommy blasted others. It was clear to him that his older siblings had planned this out and never told him, but it was fine, Tommy would just improvise.
Tommy did feel bad about killing the guards, he knew that they were just people that Dream was controlling, so he did his best not to kill them, though, his efforts were useless since his sister cut down any guard in her path, splattering blood all over the place. Her eyes were dark, she was covered head to toe in blood that was not her own, and she was slaughtering anyone who dared to challenge her.
To be honest, Tommy was a little scared.
“Tommy look out!” He ducked just as a bullet flew past his head. “Stop daydreaming and pay attention to what the hell you’re doing!” She yelled. Tommy nodded and continued to fight.
.....
Just as the last few guards fell more appeared. It was okay, though; they would get rid of these and then get past Dream somehow, and then they would be free!
So, Tommy and Clem started to fight once more, but this time it was different. Clementine’s movements were a lot less sharp, and she was moving slower. The fight had been going on for a while now and both of them were tired, but they couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when they were so close to freedom. But as more and more guards started to appear, Tommy got increasingly tired. Everything was moving so fast that neither Tommy nor Clementine noticed Dream slip away from the fight until it was too late.
Tommy yelped as he felt a tug on his collar and something cold around his neck.
Clementine turned around and gasped, “Tommy!” She started to run towards him, but Dream spoke up, pointing a gun at Tommy’s head, “Take one more step, and I’ll kill him.” Clementine froze in her tracks, “If you hurt him, I swear to god, Dream, I will boil your insides.” she threatened, though she didn’t move. “I’m sure you will. That’s why I have more insurance.”
Wait, what did he mean by “Insurance”?
Tommy then realized what he was talking about when he saw more guards coming down the hall and one of them was carrying Ranboo.
They were pulling him down the hall, his feet dragging on the floor, and his head hung low. His face was bloodied and bruised, and he looked like he was about to pass out.
“You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t kill either of them. I know you wouldn’t.” Clementine said though she didn’t sound all that confident, “Oh but I would.” Dream said, “You see, I have a book that allows me to bring anyone I want back from the dead. So, yes, I would kill them, but I would bring them back just as quickly.” Tommy gulped. That sounded…Painful, to say the least.
“There’s nothing you can do now Clementine. So, why don’t you give up now, and maybe I’ll consider giving you and your brothers a lighter punishment.” Clementine growled, “Or, I could just kill them right here if that’s what you would like.” Tommy sucked in a breath as Dream pushed the gun further into his skull, “So, what will it be?”
Clementine took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Suddenly Dream cried out in pain and dropped Tommy. The guards tried to stop Clementine but before they could even move, she sliced half of their heads off with a sharp wave of water. One of them tased her, causing her to cry out, and then she threw them back with a wave of water.
Everything was moving too fast for Tommy to process what was going on fully, but he knew that his sister was winning. As Clem killed the last guard standing, Tommy smiled, it was over. They had won, and now they would be free. Clementine turned around and-
A gunshot echoed down the hall.
Clementine swayed.
No.
Another one, and she fell to her knees.
Nononononononono.
A final shot and she collapsed onto the ground, unmoving.
“CLEMENTINE”
"Tommy?"
“Oh my god,” Tommy breathed. There was no way this was real. It couldn’t be because the person standing in front of him right now was dead. He had watched her die, but here she was, standing right in front of him. He quickly ran around the corner and hugged her tightly. She chuckled, “Hello to you too, little star.” Tommy pulled away to look at her, “How-how are you- I thought-”
“I know, I know what you thought but I’m here now, and I’m going anywhere,” she whispered into his hair. Tommy could feel tears running down his cheeks, but he didn’t care. His sister was here, and she was alive! The sound of glass shattering startled the whole cafe, “Clementine?” People were now staring, “Hi.” Ranboo disregarded the broken glass under his feet and ran to his sister, “I thought you were dead.” he mumbled into her dress, “I know, I did too.” Both boys took in that familiar smell of lavender. It reminded them of home.
“What's going on out here-” Puffy cut herself off after seeing the tearful reunion that the boys were having, “Sorry, I’ll clean it up right away-” Puffy held up a hand to stop Ranboo, “It’s fine I’ll do it. You boys take the rest of the day off, okay?” Both boys nodded and thanked her as they clocked out.
.....
They sat at a park bench, both boys on either side of Clementine. None of them had said a word until now. None of them knew what to say or were too scared to say anything. Tommy took this time to look at his sister. She still looked the same, with tan skin, long brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail, and her bangs were messy, falling into her eyes. More freckles were dotting her face than the last time Tommy had seen her and the scar on her lip was a bit more faded.
Clementine smiled when she caught Tommy staring at her, “I was just making sure you’re our sister and not some imposter.” (𝗵𝗲𝗵 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗵.) “An imposter?” She questioned, sounding amused. “Yeah, like a shapeshifter pulling some sick prank.” Tommy shrugged, “Well, I assure you that I’m real.” She smiled she opened her mouth to say something when Ranboo abruptly stood up, back turned to them. “Ranboo?”
“Where were you?” he asked, Ranboo hadn’t said a word since they left the cafe, he hadn’t even looked in Clementine’s direction. “We thought you we dead, but you’ve been alive this whole time.” he continued, “We held a makeshift funeral for you, we mourned you, and you’ve been alive this whole time!?” he cried, “I tried finding you-”
“It took you six months!” Ranboo shouted as he turned around.
“I searched every village, town, and city I came across. I never gave up on looking for you.”
“I thought we would never see you again.” He whispered and that’s when Clem noticed the tears in his eyes, “You promised you would never leave and-and I thought-” Clementine jumped up and embraced him, though it looked a bit awkward since Ranboo was much taller than her. “I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner, but I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.” Ranboo pulled away to look at her, “Promise?” Clem gave him a warm smile, “Pinky promise.” She held out her pinky to him. Ranboo smiled and linked their fingers together. Clementine then turned around and held out her other pinky to Tommy who immediately got up and joined the little circle.
This reminded Ranboo of when they were kids, making promises to each other. Sometimes, it would be promising to keep a secret or promising to always be there for each other. Clementine had always kept her promises, so Ranboo was sure she would keep this one.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽....
Phil sighed and banged his head against his desk, “It just doesn’t make sense,” he said, “A whole city, burned to the ground without a single citizen in sight. How does that even happen!” He had been working on the Logstedshire case in his spare time, and to be quite honest, none of the provided information about the city made sense. The mayor of the city was a masked man who went by the name Dream, and the city was a pretty peaceful place with a minimal amount of crime. It seemed like Dream was a pretty good leader judging by the things said about him, but something was...Off about him. In the interviews, when people are asked about the mayor, they tense up as if hearing the name triggered them.
“Dad, why don’t you take a break.” Techno suggested, “I need to figure this out.” Phil said, still typing away at his computer, “You’ve been sitting at your computer stressing over this case all day. Have you even eaten yet?” Right after Techno said that Phil’s stomach growled. Techno sighed and stood from the couch, “C’mon, let's go.” he said, “Where are we going?” Phil asked, “To get some food because apparently, I’m the only one in this family that can take care of themselves,” Techno grabbed his car keys as Phil stood up and stretched. He groaned as his back cracked, “You're getting old,” Techno joked, “Shut up,” Finally noticing his other son’s absence, he asked Techno about it, “Where’s Wil?”
“In his room. He hasn’t come out all day.” Phil sighed; he would have to talk to Wil later.
......
Arriving at a restaurant, Phil and Techno stood in a line that was halfway outside. The place they were at had just opened last week so it was packed. While waiting Phil heard an unfamiliar voice call out to Techno, “Techno Blade! Nice to see you, man!” A tall and skinny kid walked up to them. He had bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair that almost reached his shoulders. “Tommy,” Oh, so this was Tommy. Before the kid could open his mouth again, an even taller kid walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. He whispered something, and Tommy's eyes widened, “Right, Ray this is Techno, Wilbur’s brother.” he said, “Hullo,” Techno waved, and the kid, Ray waved back a bit hesitantly. He was a tall-ass kid, taller than Wilbur. He was lanky, and rather than standing up straight, he slouched. His hair was black and went a little bit past his shoulders. He had heterochromia, one eye a brown color that almost looked red, (it reminded him of Techno’s eyes) and the other dark green. “And this-” Tommy looked at Phil, “I don’t know who that is.” he said, “This is my dad, Phil this is Tommy.” Phil waved, “Hi mate, it’s nice to meet you finally! Wilbur’s told me a lot about you.” Tommy’s smile faltered at the mention of Wilbur, “He-he talks about me?”
“Oh, all the time,” Techno said, “It’s always Tommy this and Tommy that. It’s so annoying.” he complained, “I think it’s sweet.” Techno rolled his eyes, “Of course, you do, old man.” Phil shook his head, “Anyway, Wilbur talks about you all the time, he told me a lot about you too Ray.” The kid perked up at the mention of his name, “Really?” he seemed surprised, “Oh yeah, he’s told me plenty of nice things about you. He seems to be pretty fond of you two. I’ve been wanting to meet you two, but I’ve been a little busy.” Techno scoffed at that, and Phil glared at him to shut up, “I was wondering if you two would like to come over for dinner sometime.” Both boys looked at each other, but before either one of them could say anything, a brown-haired girl came up to them, “Oh my god, that line was so long, but I got the food-” she cut herself off when she saw Phil and Techno, she gave the boys a questioning look, “Oh um, Yeah, we’ll definitely come over sometime soon. Uh, we have to go now but it was nice meeting you!” Tommy said before pulling the two other people away with him.
After waiting in line for another 45 minutes, they finally got their food and sat in the car. Thinking back to that interaction with Tommy, when he mentioned Wilbur’s name, something flashed in Tommy’s eyes, guilt? Regret? Phil didn’t know, but it probably had something to do with why Wilbur had been in his room all day. Phil had also seen how young Tommy and Ranboo looked, and they were both so skinny, a little too skinny if you asked Phil. “Techno, how old are Tommy and Ray?” he asked, “Well, Tommy said he was eighteen, but I don’t believe him, and I think he told me that Ray was... Nineteen? Something like that,” Techno answered. Phil agreed with Techno, Ray didn’t look nineteen, and Tommy definitely didn’t look eighteen. Neither of them looked above the age of 17. Another thing Phil also saw was the bruises on their faces, and he wondered how they got there. Wilbur told him that they lived in District 18 and-
No. He couldn’t worry about that right now. He had his own kid to worry about.
Sure, he was a full-grown adult and could take care of himself, but he was still his kid.
But Tommy and Ray looked like they hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest, and they looked a little malnourished-
NO. Nope, Phil already had two children, and he wasn’t about to adopt two more. Nope, no way.
But Tommy-
NO.
.....
Once they got home, Phil called Wilbur down to eat while Techno set the food out. When he came down the stairs, that’s when Phil became extremely concerned, Wil’s hair was sticking every which way, and it looked like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. He sat down slightly slouched at the table and filled his plate with a small amount of food. While Phil and Techno ate, Wilbur just sat there…Staring at his food. It seemed like his mind was elsewhere, Phil cleared his throat trying to catch his attention, but it didn’t work, “Wil?” He slowly turned his head to look at Phil, “What’s wrong?” Phil asked, “That's the problem, Dad. I don’t know what’s wrong.” He sighed before continuing, “There’s something wrong with Tommy,” he said, “That wasn’t obvious before?” Techno joked, and Wilbur glared at him, “I’m being serious Techno. Something’s going on with him and Ray.”
“How so?” Phil asked, “Someone has hurt them to the point where they both feel like they can’t trust anyone but each other.”
“Some people have trust issues, Wil. It’s nothing worth losing sleep over.” Techno said, and Wilbur shook his head, “It’s not just that, though. It’s like they’re running from something or someone.” he said, “Have you asked Tommy about it?” Phil asked, and Wilbur nodded. “What did he say?”
“He told me not to worry about it, and that they were fine, but he’s lying Phil. I know he is.” Wil continued, “Tommy had a full-on panic attack yesterday, and when I asked about it, he told me he had to go and left. Not to mention how much Ray’s hands shake whenever he smells bleach, how Tommy flinches back whenever someone raises their voice at him, or how Ray tenses up whenever someone puts a hand on his shoulder. They think I don’t see it, but I do. I see it all. And don’t let me forget how they both tense up at the mere mention of what happened in Logstedshire.” Phil’s eyes widened at that, “Did you say Logstedshire?” Wilbur nodded, and Phil looked at Techno.
“You don’t think-”
“I mean, it’s a possibility,”
“But that would mean-”
“They know what happened that night.”
Wilbur raised an eyebrow, “You guys don’t think that they lived in Logstedshire, do you?” Phil and Techno glanced at each other, and Wilbur’s eyes widened, “Oh my god, wait, it makes sense! Maybe that’s what they’re running from!” He exclaimed, “Okay, let's not jump to conclusions. It’s none of our business.” Phil said, “But what if we’re right?” Wilbur asked, “We’ll take them in for questioning.” Phil answered, “Okay, and what do I do about Tommy? I’ve called and texted him, but he hasn’t answered.”
“Give him space, and when he’s ready to talk, he’ll come to you.” Techno supplied, and Wilbur sighed, “That is if he’s ever ready.”
Tommy sat on the couch, eating a container of fried rice. They had gone to this new restaurant that opened in District 13. It was a little expensive, and when Ranboo and Tommy suggested they go to a different place, Clementine just brushed them off. “It’s not that expensive.” she had said. Tommy wasn’t sure how much money she had, but it had to be more than what he and Ranboo had combined. So, they had sat in the line for about 30 minutes before Tommy saw Techno and decided to go say hi. He didn’t expect to meet his dad, but the guy seemed nice. Though Tommy couldn’t help but think about what Phil had said, Wilbur had liked Tommy, and now he had probably ruined everything. Tommy shouldn't have said anything yesterday. Maybe he should’ve declined Wilbur’s offer and just gone home instead. Maybe then he and Wilbur would still be friends.
When Clementine had asked about Phil and Techno, Tommy told her about Wilbur but didn’t mention what happened yesterday, not wanting to think about it anymore. But y’know, Tommy never got what he wanted, so here he was, eating fried rice and thinking about his ruined friendship.
Tommy felt a dip in the couch and looked over to see Ranboo sitting beside him, “You okay?” he asked, “Yeah, just think about stuff.” Tommy sighed, “Need a distraction?” Tommy nodded, “Well, Tubbo said he made some new stuff for us.” Tommy perked up at that news, “Really?” Ranboo nodded, “Well, what are we waiting for let’s go! But wait, what do we tell Clem?”
“Tell me what?” Both boys shared a look, “Uhh, we were gonna tell you that we have plans tonight.” Tommy said, “What kind of plans?” She asked, “Ummm, we’re going to meet up with a friend.” Tommy answered, “Oh, so you’re going to do vigilante stuff.” Clementine said, and both boys' eyes widened, “How did you-
“Please, how do you think I knew you were here in the first place?” she said, “Oh,” That made sense, “Yeah, now where are we going?”
.....
“TUBBO!” Tommy shouted, “Tommy, how many times have I told you not to scream out our real names?” Tubbo said, appearing from one of the back rooms. He had safety goggles on top of his head, a apron, and some gloves. He opened his mouth to say something else but stopped when he noticed Clementine, “Why have you brought a stranger into our base!?” Ranboo pulled Tubbo aside, “What the fuck, Ranboo!” He whispered, “Listen, I know we’re not supposed to bring other people here, but-” Ranboo glanced at his sister. Tommy showed her his suit, “-I promise she’s trustworthy.” Tubbo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Fine, she can stay,” Ranboo smiled, “She just better not touch anything.” Tubbo said, loud enough for Clementine to hear, and she nodded.
“Okay, so as you can see, I’ve made some changes to your suits, I added a few new things to them,” Tubbo said. Ranboo looked at his suit in amazement, instead of his usual all-black attire, this new suit had accents of purple and white, and on the back was a drawing of a lunar eclipse. Tommy’s suit was now a dark red with accents of black and white, and he had a drawing of a shooting star in the middle of his chest. “This is so cool,” Tommy smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror, “Glad you like it. I also made you new masks,” Tubbo said and handed them their new masks. Tommy’s was a regular white with the shadow of a shooting star on it while Ranboo’s mask was made out of a different material. It was metal and had a latch that allowed it to open in the middle, and had a small crescent moon on the side. “The latch is in case you wanted to detach your jaw since you’re an Enderman hybrid and all, and y’know Enderman can detach their jaw when mad.” Tubbo rambled, “Thanks Tubbo,” Ranboo smiled and Tubbo smiled back.
Ranboo turned to his brother, “Wanna go try our new suits out.” He asked, and Tommy gave him a mischievous smile,
“Hell yeah,”
.....
“WOOOHOOO” Tommy shouted as he jumped high in the air, “Having fun?” Tubbo’s voice cracked through his earpiece, “Yes, this is so much fun!” Tommy exclaimed as his feet hit the ground. Tubbo had added something to his boots that helped him jump higher and Tommy was having the time of his life, jumping from building to building. It’s quiet today, which is a huge contrast to what was going on the other night, but Tommy isn’t complaining, though he is a little concerned because that usually means something bad is going to happen soon, but that was for future Tommy to worry about because right now, he was having fun.
He smiled as people on the streets waved at him, “I never knew we were so popular.” Tommy said as he waved to a teenage girl and her mother, “Yeah, well, you guys are heroes to these people.” Tubbo responded, “Oh, uh oh.” He started to type on his computer, “What’s the problem?” Tommy asked, “There’s a low-level villain terrorizing people on Bedrock Street.” Welp, so much for a quiet night, “Got it, going there now.” Tommy said. It didn’t take long to reach Bedrock, and sure enough, people were screaming and running from a dude that had fucking tentacles. Tommy sighed and jumped down, “Dude, what the fuck.” He said, and the villain turned around, “Supernova and Lunar Eclipse! I was wondering when you two would show up.” The villain smiled, showing off his array of sharp teeth. “Were you doing all of this just to get our attention?” Tommy asked, “Actually, I was looking for my next meal, and I think you two would taste delicious.” The villain responded. He licked his lips, and Tommy shivered, “Okay, that’s just gross,” Tommy pulled out his baton (which was also upgraded from regular iron to steel). “Let’s just get this over with quickly so I can go home.”
The villain threw a tentacle out at Tommy, trying to catch him with it, but he ducked out of the way. He tried again but failed as Tommy dodged the attack again. Ranboo threw a knife at the villain, and he hissed as it scraped his face. In return, the man spat acid at both of them, and Tommy yelped as it landed next to his foot. He watched in horror as it burned through the ground, “What the fuck,” he whispered. He looked back up in time to dodge more acid that was coming his way. Tommy quickly blasted him with a ball of energy, and the villain just spat more acid at him. This went on for about 10 minutes, with Ranboo throwing knives and dodging attacks while Tommy blasted the villain and also dodged attacks.
Tommy was getting annoyed with this guy, like acid!? Really!? Ugh, this guy was getting on his nerves-
Uh, oh.
Tommy stepped back as the villain turned from a dude with tentacles to a full-on monster.
What.
The.
Fuck.
It roared and knocked Ranboo through a store window.
Shit.
Tommy tried getting away but yelped as something slimy gripped his leg. He lost his footing and was dragged across the concrete. He hit the tentacle with his baton multiple times in an attempt to get free but to no avail. The villain held him upside down by his foot and smiled when he saw Tommy, “Time to see what you taste like,” he opened his mouth wide, and Tommy almost screamed at the number of teeth that were inside, “I don’t taste very good! I swear, please put me down!” Tommy shouted, but the villain kept lowering him into his mouth. Just as Tommy was about to be eaten, a knife flew and cut the tentacle freeing Tommy from its grasp.
The monster shrieked as Ranboo threw another knife at him, which gave Tommy enough time to gain his composure and blast it into next week.
Tommy sighed as the villain fell and reverted into its human form. He could hear police sirens in the distance and grabbed Ranboo’s hand before they teleported away from the scene.
“Oh my god, that was crazy. Like, that guy just turned into a full-on monster!” Tommy exclaimed, “Yeah, I’m just glad you guys got outta there in one piece.” Tubbo said, “Me too,” Tommy sighed, “Welp, time to go home-”
“I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere.”
Tommy spun around and groaned when he saw the heroes, Wildcat and Vermillion. “We just can’t catch a break, can we?” Tommy mumbled to himself, “What do you want?” Tommy sighed, “For you to come with us.” Vermillion replied, and Tommy groaned again, “You’re not gonna let us go, are you?” he asked, and both heroes shook their heads. Tommy took a deep and slow breath, then got into a fighting stance, “Let’s just get this over with.” Vermillion split into six different versions of himself, and Wildcat let his claws out. And just like that, another fight began.
Tommy was dodging swipes from Wildcat while Ranboo was exchanging punches with Vermillion. “Why can’t we just-” Tommy jumped out of the way of another attack, “-get along? I mean, we’re both considered heroes.” He said, hitting the hero in the stomach with his baton, “So, what’s the problem?” he said, “The problem is-” The villain lunged at him, and Tommy flipped out of the way, “-that you’re not real heroes and we are.” He swiped at Tommy again, who dodged easily, “But we’re both fighting to keep people safe, so-” Tommy blocked another attack with his baton, “-I don’t see the difference.” He said, pushing Wildcat back enough for him to almost fall off of the building.
Tommy twirled his baton, “Why don’t you guys just let us go? Then we’ll be outta your hair…Or fur.” The hero growled, “Not a chance,” he said and lunged at Tommy once again, “Suit yourself,"
"Lunar!” Tommy called, and Ranboo’s head popped out of the fight he was in, “Shooting star!” Ranboo gave a short nod and disappeared, leaving behind a handful of purple particles. Wildcat laughed, “Looks like your partner in crime left you for dead.” he said, “Now-” The hero stalked closer to him, “Come with us willingly unless you want to be shredded to pieces.”
Before the hero could get any closer to him, he held out his hands. “Wait!” he exclaimed, “What?” the hero answered, “I have a question,” Tommy said, “What is it?”
“What do you think of the stars?”
Before the hero could answer, Tommy blinded both heroes by throwing a ball of energy that exploded, making mini fireworks. Ranboo finally reappeared and teleported them out of there, leaving the heroes blind and confused.
.....
Tommy collapsed onto the couch once they got back to the base, “I’m so tired,” he said, “Oh, stop complaining. You weren’t the one that got thrown through a window.” Ranboo said, “C’mere, lemme see if you have any cuts.” Tubbo said, carrying a first aid kit, “Tubbo, I’m fine-”
“Go take off your suit so I can see if you have any cuts.” He commanded. Ranboo sighed but did as he was told.
It turns out he wasn’t fine; he had a huge cut on the back of his thigh, “What the fuck happened!?” Tubbo questioned, “I got thrown through a window, Tubbo.” Ranboo deadpanned, and Tubbo sighed, “I need to make those suits more durable.” he mumbled. Besides the huge cut on his thigh, Ranboo was fine. He only had a few bruises and cuts, same with Tommy. So, after being patched up, the boys said goodbye to Tubbo and headed home.
As they were waiting for the train back home, Ranboo noticed Clementine staring at him, “What?” he asked, “You’ve grown up so much, both of you have, and even though it’s only been a few months, I feel like I’ve missed an entire year.” she said, “I promise you haven’t missed much,” Ranboo replied, “But it feels like I have. I’m sorry I didn’t find you two sooner.” she apologized, “Clem, it’s fine, as long as you promise not to scare us like that again.”
Clementine smiled, “I promise,”
𝐓h𝐞 𝐰a𝐭c𝐡e𝐫 𝐬i𝐠h𝐞d, 𝐬h𝐞 𝐰i𝐬h𝐞d s𝐡e c𝐨u𝐥d h𝐞l𝐩 𝐭h𝐞m b𝐮t s𝐡e w𝐚s n𝐨t p𝐞r𝐦i𝐭t𝐞d t𝐨 𝐢n𝐭e𝐫f𝐞r𝐞 𝐰i𝐭h h𝐮m𝐚n a𝐟f𝐚i𝐫s. 𝐈f s𝐡e d𝐢d, 𝐬h𝐞 𝐰o𝐮l𝐝 𝐬u𝐫e𝐥y g𝐞t i𝐧 𝐭r𝐨u𝐛l𝐞, s𝐨 𝐟o𝐫 𝐧o𝐰 𝐬h𝐞 𝐰o𝐮l𝐝 𝐬i𝐭 𝐛a𝐜k a𝐧d w𝐚i𝐭 𝐟o𝐫 𝐚l𝐥 𝐨f t𝐡e e𝐯e𝐧t𝐬 𝐭o u𝐧f𝐨l𝐝.
Notes:
Recap of the first part: Clementine woke Tommy up planning to escape. Just as they were getting to the exit Dream stopped them. Long story short a fight broke out, and a lot of blood was shed. Though eventually, Clementine won, or so they thought because soon after she struck down the last guard she was "killed" by Dream.
Heroes:
Wildcat-Antfrost
Vermillion-RedvelvetiscakeActual notes
⇩
Hey everyone! I'm back to posting at 4 am again :D
Anyways how are you all? I know that this chapter is really long, I worked really hard on it so I hope you all enjoyed it! If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments, I would love to hear all your thoughts and theories on this chapter.Oh, before I forget, I have changed Phil and Wilbur's hero names along with Wilbur's power. Phil is now Corvus while Wilbur is Specter, and his new power is intangibility
Okay, I'm gonna go now because I've been sitting at my desk for hours and my back hurts. As always, have a good day/night wherever you are, and take care of yourselves! I love you all, until next time friends!
Chapter 8: Smart. But not smart enough.
Summary:
He looked through countless videos, but they all showed the same flash of purple and a weird glitch at the end, he even looked through the security cameras but as soon as Lunar appeared on screen the footage cut out. They must’ve had someone wipe the footage. Smart, very smart.
Chapter Text
Wed July 30, 4:30 PM
Me: I’m sorry if I upset you
Delivered.
Thu July 31, 10:00 AM
Me: Hey Tommy, just wanted to make sure you were ok
Again, I’m really sorry about yesterday.
Delivered.
1:00 PM
Me: Hey, I just went to the cafe and you weren’t there
Puffy said she gave you and Ranboo the rest of the day off.
You okay?
Delivered.
Toms♡ couldn’t answer your call.
Toms♡ couldn’t answer your call.
Me: Tommy?
Are you there?
Delivered.
3:07 PM
Me: I get now that you probably don’t want to talk to me and that’s fine
I’ll give you your space.
But if you ever wanna talk I’ll be here
Delivered.
Wilbur sighed as he looked back at the last text message he sent to Tommy. It had been almost two weeks since he had seen Tommy, neither he nor Ray had been to work, and it was a little worrying.
Was Tommy avoiding him?
“Staring at those texts isn’t gonna make him respond.” Techno said he was standing in the doorway, arms crossed giving Wilbur an unimpressed look, “Leave me alone,” Wilbur turned over in his bed, his back facing Techno, “C’mon Wil, we gotta go to work.” Techno said and when Wil didn’t move from his spot in bed he huffed. It was quiet for a moment, Wil thought that maybe Techno had listened to him for once and left him alone, well that was until he felt the cover be snatched off of him.
He yelped as he was dragged off of his bed and thrown over Techno’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Techno put me down!” Wilbur shouted, “Nope,” Techno walked out of Wilbur’s room and into the living room where Phil was sitting on the couch, “Techno put me down, I’m serious.” Wilbur said but Techno didn’t listen, instead, he walked past Phil towards the front door, Before Techno could open it though Wilbur phased through his body causing Techno to shiver.
Wilbur reappeared behind Techno, “What was that for!?” he asked, “You weren’t getting outta bed.” Techno shrugged, “So you thought it was a good idea to drag me out of it!?” Wilbur exclaimed, “Well, you’re outta bed, right?” Techno said and Wilbur just glared at him, “I hate you,” he huffed and crossed his arms. Techno just gave him a mocking smile and grabbed his keys, “I’ll be in the car.” He said, walking out of the house. Wilbur rolled his eyes and despite not wanting to go to work he went back to his room to change.
Wilbur trudged into work feeling like shit. He and Techno had stopped for coffee and Wilbur had hoped to see Tommy or maybe even Ranboo at the cafe, but he was disappointed to only see Puffy and her son Foolish there. He entered the elevator, already wishing the day was over. Just as the doors were about to close a hand slipped through the crack, the door opened and a man with blonde hair that was almost white stepped into the elevator. A chill ran down Wilbur’s spine, he remembered seeing this person on the bus and wondered why he was at the hero tower and how he got in. You needed a key card to even get into the elevator so how–
That’s when Wilbur spotted the lanyard around his neck. He works here!? How come he had never seen this person around? How long has he been working here? It was quiet, neither of them saying anything to each other until the elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor and the other person got out. So, he worked in the management department, huh? No wonder Wilbur had never seen him before.
Arriving at his office Wilbur sat down at his desk and sighed, he didn’t have that much work to do, only a few patrol reports but he didn’t feel like doing anything so instead, he just sat at his desk scrolling through Twitter. People were freaking out about something that happened with Lunar Eclipse and Supernova last night, so Wilbur, being curious, looked up the incident. A bunch of news articles popped up along with a video, clicking on it, he was surprised to see Supernova fighting with Rosethorn and Jinx.
Though the video was very shaky, Wilbur could see Supernova dodging attacks. His movements were slow and sluggish, most likely from the poison of Rose’s thorns. Supernova ducked as one of the vines took a swipe at him, he extended his baton and hit Rose in her stomach. He turned around just in time to block an attack from Jinx, pushing her back through the portal she had just come through. He dodged another vine that was aimed at his head and without looking blasted Rose out of the sky, who roughly landed back onto the rooftop. The fight became more intense as Jinx appeared and disappeared through multiple portals, hitting the vigilante from different angles not giving him a chance to fight back. Supernova tried fighting back, blasting energy in different directions, but to no avail, as the hero was too fast for him.
Just as Supernova got a hit on Jinx a vine wrapped around his arm stopping him from punching the hero and though Wilbur couldn’t see much of what was going on he could tell that Rose had covered him in vines. Wilbur thought that was the end of the video but was surprised to see Lunar Eclipse appear, The person recording the video cursed as a purple light flashed on the screen then the video abruptly ended.
“Huh?” Wilbur rewinded the video to see what happened but he saw nothing, so he instead searched for another video to get a better angle of what happened. He looked through countless videos, but they all showed the same flash of purple and a weird glitch at the end, he even looked through the security cameras but as soon as Lunar appeared on screen the footage cut out. They must’ve had someone wipe the footage. Smart, very smart. Wilbur huffed because now it would be much harder to figure out what happened.
Walking into the infirmary he was greeted by Ponk, “Hey Wil, what can I do for you?” he asked, “Hey, I uh, heard about what happened to Hannah and Tina last night. Is it possible for me to speak with one of them?” Wil asked, “Yeah, of course. Right, this way.” Wilbur followed Ponk down the hall, “Since Tina is still in critical condition the only person, you’ll be able to speak with is Hannah.” Wilbur’s eyes widened. Critical condition!? “O-Okay,” They stopped in front of a door and Ponk turned to him, “Here we are, just let me know if you need anything.” Wilbur nodded and entered the room. Immediately his eyes widened at the state Hannah was in. Part of her wing was burnt, she had bandages running down her left arm, and she had scratches all over her face. “Hannah?” Her head snapped over to him, “Oh my god,”
“It’s not as bad as it looks, I promise.” She said, “Are you okay?” Wilbur asked, “I’m fine though I wish I could say the same for Tina.” Hannah said solemnly, “What happened?” Wilbur asked, sitting in the chair next to her bed. Hannah sighed recalling the events of last night, “Well, we were on patrol as usual when we saw Supernova running around, so we decided to try and apprehend him.” she said. Supernova? In their area? “What was he doing?” Wilbur asked, “I’m not too sure, it looked like he was searching for something.” Or someone. “We were so close to bringing him in until Lunar Eclipse showed up and blasted me.”
“Blasted you?” Wilbur questioned, “Yeah, like how Supernova usually attacks but Lunar’s was purple and much stronger.” Hannah said, her wing twitching at the statement. “I’m not sure what happened after that, you’d have to ask Tina after she wakes up.” Wilbur hummed, Lunar Eclipse only had one known power; teleportation, There was so much they didn’t know about the vigilante and his partner in crime and Wilbur was determined to figure out just who these two were and what they were capable of.
.....
After chatting with Hannah for a while, Wilbur went to visit Tina in the ER. Upon arriving Wilbur was shocked at the condition she was in. Tina was hooked up to multiple machines, she had a tube down her throat, her right and left leg were in casts and half of her face was bruised and burned. “It’s awful,” A voice spoke, “Seeing her like this, it’s awful.” Wil turned to see Sylvee looking at Tina through the glass. “What even happened for her to be in this condition?” Wilbur asked, “After Lunar Eclipse and Supernova teleported away Tina called for backup and gave chase. I told her to wait until I got there but she didn’t listen.” Sylvee’s voice quivered, “When we got there, she was barely conscious, I just wish I got there sooner.” Sylvee broke down and Wilbur comforted her. He took one last look at Tina and wondered how Lunar was capable of this.
Unknown to him, someone was watching him from the shadows.
Across the city, Tommy sat alone on the rooftop of their hideout. He and Ranboo had just gotten into another argument, this one worse than the one they had the previous night. Tommy regretted saying those things to Ranboo but his brother had almost killed that hero and Tommy…Well, Tommy just couldn’t handle it. He and his brother had sworn they’d never use their powers to kill people so when he saw the condition Jinx was in…Tommy just lost it. He had said things…Things that, were only partially true. No, Ranboo wasn’t a monster but if Jinx had died then, he would have been seen as one in the eyes of the public.
Tommy took a deep breath but that did nothing but make him wince from his broken ribs. He heard a curse from behind him and turned to see Tubbo climbing through the window. “Did you find anything new?” Tommy asked and Tubbo shook his head as he took a seat next to his friend, “I set up a few sensors around the city though, so I’ll let you know if any of them catch a shadow demon lurking around.” Tubbo said, “He’s smart, if he doesn’t want to be found he won’t be.” Tommy said, “Yeah but, I don’t think he’s smart enough to hide from me.” Tubbo said confidently, Tommy snorted and shook his head, “But, that’s not what I came up here to about.”
“Tubbo…” His friend held up a hand, “Let me speak.” Tommy sighed but stayed quiet, “I’m not sure how Ranboo was able to blast Jinx into next week, but he only did it to protect you.”
“But-”
“I’m not saying he was right for almost killing Jinx, I actually think he went a little overboard with that but what I’m saying is, he had a good reason.”
“But he swore Tubbo, he swore he wouldn’t use his powers to hurt anyone.” Tommy objected, “Look, I’m not sure what went down with whoever this guy is,” Tommy’s finger twitched at the mention of him. “But I think it was a little harsh to compare Ranboo to what that guy called him,” Tubbo continued, “And I think you should apologize.” Tommy sighed, his breath floating out in front of him, “You’re right,” he said, “I always am, now c’mon, it’s freezing out here.” Tubbo shivered, “Yeah, yeah, just- give me a minute.” Tommy said, “Okay, but don’t ask me to take care of you when you get sick.” Tubbo said and Tommy flipped him off. Tubbo went back inside, leaving Tommy alone. Again.
“Hey, this is Ranboo, sorry I can’t answer your call right now. I’m either busy or just couldn’t be bothered to answer. Leave a message at the beep.”
Tommy frowned as the call went straight to voicemail. He was about to call again when he saw Wilbur’s contact.
It had been a while since he’d seen Wilbur. He had been distancing himself from the man and missed him a lot. Tommy thought for a moment. If Dream ever found them Wilbur and his family would be in grave danger but at the same time, Tommy missed his friend and wanted to see him. After some consideration, Tommy decided to be selfish for once and pressed the call button.
Wilbur hadn’t expected a call, let alone a call from Tommy, telling him he wanted to talk. Wilbur had almost immediately rushed out of the hero tower and to the train station. He didn’t people-watch this time, instead, his anxiety ran rampant as endless what-ifs came to mind.
Now, he stood outside Tommy’s apartment door, waiting for someone to open it. He heard something fall and a curse before a blue-eyed brunette girl opened to door, “Who are you?” she asked, looking at him suspiciously, “Uh, my name is Wilbur. Does Tommy live here?” The girl's eyebrows raised, “Oh so you’re Wilbur!” she said, “It’s nice to meet you, I’ll get Tommy for you.” She smiled, “TOMMY, YOUR FRIEND’S HERE.” She shouted, making Wilbur flinch in surprise, There were footsteps and then a head of blonde hair appeared through the crack. There were whispers then Tommy stepped outside.
“Hi,” Wilbur greeted, “Hi,” Tommy mumbled back, that’s when Wilbur noticed all of the bruises and cuts on Tommy’s face, he gasped and immediately moved to look the boy over, “What happened?” he asked, “I got mugged,” Tommy answered, “Did you see who it was?”
“No,”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m-” Tommy winced as Wilbur grazed a particularly nasty bruise on his cheek. “Does anything else hurt? Are any of your bones broken? Do you have a concussion? Are you-”
Wilbur was cut off by Tommy hugging him, “I missed you.” Tommy mumbled into his sweater, Wilbur smiled and hugged him back, “I missed you too, Toms.”
Punz rewatched the video one more time and paused on one particular frame, “Brian, enhance the image.”
“Enhancing image.”
The picture became clearer and Punz got a clear view of the silent vigilante’s appearance.
These kids were smart, but not smart enough.
Punz would find them and bring them back to Dream, but he wouldn’t…He couldn’t go back without at least one of them…For if he did, his little brother would pay the price.
Notes:
Heroes:
Rosethorn-Hannahxxrose
Jinx-Tinakitten
Actual notes
⇩Hey guys, long time no see...
Sorry about that I got really busy with school and other things but, I'm back now with newfound energy! Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter, it was supposed to be posted way back in August but...
Comment who you guys think Tommy is looking for and your opinions on this chapter, I would love to hear your thoughts.
As always, I love you all, happy holidays! Until next time friends!
Chapter 9: Monster
Summary:
“𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡–𝐼–𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛!” 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑑. 𝐷𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑘 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒, “𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡,” ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑, 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦. “𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑐 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡.”
Notes:
I'm bigger than my body
I'm colder than this home
I'm meaner than my demons
I'm bigger than these bones
-Control, by HalseyThis one's long so, buckle up!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“You could have killed her!”
“But I didn’t! She was still breathing right!?”
“That doesn’t matter Ranboo, you went too far.”
“I went too far? They almost caught you!”
“You swore you wouldn’t use your powers like that again! Not after what happened.”
“They were hurting you.”
“You swore!”
“Tommy-”
“You swore Ranboo, you swore you wouldn’t be like him.”
“Tommy, that’s not fair. They were going to take you away-”
“No, you said you wouldn’t be the monster he wanted you to be.”
“I’m not a monster.”
“Well, you’re starting to act like one.”
Ranboo faltered at Tommy’s claim. He stayed silent as he grabbed his things, “Ranboo, Ranboo wait, I didn’t-” Ranboo left the warehouse, ignoring Tommy calling out.
How could Tommy say that? Ranboo wasn’t a monster, was he? They were only trying to protect their brother, that didn’t make them a monster, right?
Don’t you remember what you did to all those innocent people?
They didn’t-
That was an accident. He was trying to protect Tommy.
By killing innocent people?
No, that’s not what happened.
So, what happened then?
It was an accident, he hadn’t meant to, he couldn’t control it. It wasn’t their fault.
Oh, but it was.
What?
It was your fault.
No-It was an accident, he didn’t-
You killed them. You’re a monster.
No. No that’s-
You’re just like him.
No, that’s not true!
Monster.
Ranboo was brought back to reality when he bumped into someone, “Hey, watch it!” Ranboo mumbled an apology and continued to walk. He shivered as the cold began to bleed through his hoodie and he regretted not wearing a coat. As Ranboo continued to walk a black car pulled up next to them, They rolled the window down and Ranboo half expected it to be some creep but instead, it was Wilbur’s brother, “Kid, what are you doing out here?” he asked, “What does it look like I’m doing?” Ranboo said, “Well to me it looks like you’re wandering around the city.” Ranboo huffed and continued on his way, “Do you need a ride?” Techno asked as he continued to ride next to Ranboo, “I’m good.” They said, “Are you sure? It’s like, negative degrees.” Techno said, “I’m fine.” Ranboo shivered, “Kid, you’re shivering.” Techno pointed out but Ranboo just kept walking, Techno stopped the car and unlocked the doors, “Just get in the car kid, I know you’re freezin’.” Ranboo hesitated before relenting and getting in the passenger seat. Ranboo sunk into the warmth of the seat. “Great, now I’ll have to get my seats redone, again,” Techno mumbled. He sighed, “So, where to?” he asked, “Anywhere but home.” Ranboo replied he couldn’t go home. Not now anyway. Techno nodded and put the car into drive.
Ranboo leaned their head on the window and watched the blur of lights pass by them. They shivered, still cold from their snow-soaked clothes suddenly a blanket was thrown over them. He glanced up at Techno, whose eyes were glued to the road, and mumbled thanks. “Y’know, you shouldn’t be walking outside without a coat in the middle of winter. You could get sick.” Techno said, turning up the heat. Ranboo rolled his eyes and snuggled deeper into the soft blanket, “What were you doing by yourself in District 16 anyway?” Techno questioned, “I was visiting a friend.” Ranboo answered, his brows furrowed as he noticed they weren’t anywhere he recognized. “Where are we going?” he asked, “To my place,” Techno answered quickly, “You know this could be classified as kidnapping right?” Ranboo said as Techno pulled into the parking lot, “Well, do you want to go home?” Techno asked and Ranboo stayed silent. Techno took that as a no and turned off the car, “Well c’mon, don’t just sit there.” He said as he got out of the car and Ranboo scrambled to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car.
Ranboo was amazed by the luxurious building and even more amazed by Techno’s apartment. Unlike his own, Techno’s apartment was decently sized, a small grey couch sat in the middle of the living room along with a TV (that didn’t look like it had been taken out of the dump). There was a glass coffee table with a few books on it and a bookshelf with two beanbag chairs on either side. “I thought you lived with your dad,” Ranboo said, “I moved out a few years ago, needed my space y’know.” Techno replied and Ranboo hummed in understanding, “I’ll go grab you some new clothes, you can Uh, do whatever just don’t break anything.” Techno said, leaving Ranboo to explore the rest of the living room.
Ranboo decided to check out the bookshelf. There were tons of books, some about Greek mythology, some about fight techniques, and some other things but what caught Ranboo’s eye were the pictures sitting in the empty spaces. There were pictures of what Ranboo assumed to be young Techno and his brother, picking one up he saw an unfamiliar woman in the photo. She had long brown hair and a massive smile on her face, Phil was next to her, looking at her with so much love that Ranboo could feel it through the picture. Then there were Techno and Wilbur, they looked almost identical to each other except for the fact that Wilbur had rounded glasses while Techno had square ones and longer hair.
Ranboo was going to look at another picture when something brushed up against his leg startling him. He looked down and was pleasantly surprised by the fluffiest dog he had ever seen, “Well hello, what’s your name?” The said, kneeling to pet the dog. “That’s Floof,” Techno said, entering the room. “He usually doesn’t like people but-” The dog leaned into Ranboo’s touch, “-I guess you’re the exception,” Techno said, “I uh, got you some spare clothes.” He says handing them off to Ranboo, “They're Wilbur’s old clothes, I thought that since you two are close in height they’d fit better than any of my clothes.” Ranboo gladly took the clothes and thanked him, “The bathroom is down the hall to the left.” Techno-directed, Ranboo gave Floof one last pet before disappearing down the hall.
Ranboo sighed in relief as the hot water hit his back. He could feel the tension in his muscles seep away and he hoped that the memory of everything that happened today would go with it, but alas the argument they’d had with Tommy replayed in his mind.
“You swore.”
That wasn’t fair. Tommy wasn’t being fair. Ranboo was only trying to protect him. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone, it was just–They were going to take his brother away from him and he just–he couldn’t control it.
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“Lunar, I need backup! Like, now!” Tommy yelled, “I’m on my way, just hang on!” Ranboo said, jumping across rooftops. He could hear Tommy trying to talk to the heroes, trying to negotiate but it seems like they weren’t listening, “Shit, fuckin-OW! R-Lunar! Where are you!?” Tommy asked, “I’m almost there!” Ranboo said, “Wave, can you give me Nova’s exact location?” He asked, “He’s on 12th and Unity Street.” Tubbo stated. Unity!? Shit, that’s far. He could hear Tommy struggling, Ranboo needed to hurry if he wanted to get to Tommy before the heroes got him.
Ranboo took a deep breath, they only had three teleports, so they had to make this one count. They closed their eyes and imagined where Tommy was right now, “Hey, let me go!” They imagined being next to him, “Supernova, you are under arrest–”
Zwoop.
Ranboo didn’t have time to think, the only thing he could do at the moment was blast Rosethorn away from Tommy. The vines wrapped around him slowly withered and Ranboo quickly ran over to Tommy and helped him get up, “About time,” Tommy grunted, “C’mon, we gotta go.” Ranboo said, he wrapped Tommy’s arm around his shoulders, allowing his brother to use him as a crutch. “Hey!” Ranboo felt a hand grab onto him and–
Zwoop.
They ended up in an alley. He could see Jinx stumbling, trying to regain her composure. Shit. She had teleported with them. “Fuck,” Tommy mumbled, “I will never get used to that.” Ranboo grabbed Tommy from where he was crouched on the ground and tried to get out of the alley, they were in but were stopped by a throwing knife whizzing past their heads. Jinx stumbled to her feet, “You’re not–” The hero shook her head, “Wha-What did you do to me?” she asked, holding her head. “What you’re feeling right now are the side effects of teleportation. They get better over time, I swear.” Tommy said, they both watched as the hero used the wall as a crutch. “I think maybe you should just sit down, I’m sure you’re feeling a bit nauseous right now which is totally normal, so we’ll just get out of your hair–”
“No way, you’re not going anywhere.”
“But–”
Tommy dodged the knife that was thrown at him, “Okay then,” he sighed "Let's do this.” And so, the fight began.
Jinx jumped through a portal and jumped out of another one, attempting to hit Tommy but Ranboo pushed him out of the way. He grabbed Jinx by the arm and swung her into the wall. Jinx propelled herself off the wall and punched Ranboo. She disappeared into another portal before Ranboo could hit her. Jinx then threw a knife at Tommy which he dodged but Jinx then punched him across the face, “Ow! Hey, would you-” Tommy dodged the knife swung at him, “Could you-” A punch to the face, “I’m trying to-” Jinx hit him again, “Would you stop that!” Tommy yelled, he kicked Jinx in the stomach causing her to stumble, “Look, how about we just come to an agreement.” Tommy said, “You act like you weren’t able to catch us–” Jinx glared at him, “-And we’ll just go home. That way, no one is hurt. Sound good?”
“No way in hell am I just gonna let you go. Are you insane!?” Jinx exclaimed, thunder clapped, and it started to rain, “I’m not giving up the chance to catch the two most wanted vigilantes in the city.”
Most wanted? What did she mean by most wanted? Before Ranboo could think more he was hit in the arm by a knife. They winced as they pulled the thing from their bicep and pulled out their own knives. Both vigilantes charged at the hero from different sides, and Jinx struggled to handle both of them at the same time. She opened a portal and opened one behind Ranboo trying to get a hit on him, but he dodged it. They fought for what seemed like an hour before Jinx did something unexpected.
She opened a portal and kicked Ranboo into it. He felt the ground disappear from under him and suddenly he was falling onto a rooftop. He fell onto his back and there was a crack. He really hoped that nothing was broken. Sitting up he realized what had been broken, “Shit,” his communicator had been smashed and he had no way of contacting either of his teammates.
Shit.
Okay, don’t panic.
Ranboo told themself. They looked around, searching for any indicator of where he was. He could tell that he was somewhere in upper L’manburg but where was the question. He could see civilians in the street staring and pointing at him. He needed to get out of sight before more heroes showed up, but he only had one teleport left. He needed to get back to Tommy, now. So, he took a deep breath and imagined himself back in that alley.
Zwoop.
The world swam as the scenery changed from skyscrapers to a dark alley. Ranboo’s eyes widened as he witnessed his brother be tased. Tommy dropped to the ground, and as Jinx cuffed him, Ranboo lost it.
In almost an instant his powers activated, and Jinx was slammed into a wall. Jinx gasped as the wind was knocked out of her. As the hero caught her breath Ranboo ran to his brother, he tried shaking him awake but it did nothing, Ranboo checked his pulse, he was breathing. Ranboo sighed in relief, he didn’t know what he would do if–
Ranboo held up a hand as a knife was thrown at him. He slowly turned around and snarled at the hero, she was going to regret chasing after them. Ranboo sent the knife flying back at the hero, but she dodged. Threw another knife at him, then another, and another. Ranboo quickly redirected them back in her direction and watched as the hero danced out of the way, each knife just barely missing her. Jinx opened a portal to try and escape but Ranboo grabbed her by her ponytail and slammed her onto the concrete, She let out a pained noise as something crunched under her. The hero whimpered as Ranboo picked her up by the neck, his eyes glowing a deep purple, the hero wiggled in his grasp, desperate to get free.
“Please,” She choked out, but Ranboo only glared at her as he began to gather magic in his hand, “Let this be a lesson, to never touch him again.” Just as Ranboo was going to strike Jinx, Tommy called out to him, “Lunar stop!”
------------------------------------------------------------------
Ranboo was snapped out of the memory by a knock at the door, “You okay in there?” Techno asked, that’s when Ranboo realized that his powers had been activated. They immediately snapped out of it and hurriedly turned the shower off, “Uh, yeah! Just finishing up!” They answered, “Okay well, dinner should be ready by the time you’re done.” Techno said and Ranboo waited until the footsteps were far enough away before breathing a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure how he’d lost control of his powers like that, usually, he had them under control. Ranboo took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He needed to stop dwelling on what Tommy said, it wasn’t true.
Killer.
Ranboo ignored the voice in his head and changed into the clothes Techno gave him.
........
After changing Ranboo entered the kitchen to see Techno cooking dinner, “So how do the clothes fit?” he asked, “The shirt is fine, but the pants are…They’re uh...” Techno turned around and snorted when he saw Ranboo. The pants stopped just before the end of his calf. “I didn’t think they would be this short.”
“I didn’t either, do you want a different pair? ‘Cuz I’m sure I can find some–”
“It’s fine, they’re–” Ranboo adjusted the pant legs, “–They’re fine.” Techno shrugged and turned back around to finish dinner.
Ranboo sat at the counter and watched as Techno filled two bowls with some kind of soup, “Hope you like potatoes,” he said, sliding a bowl across to Ranboo. Ranboo looked at the steaming bowl, whatever was in it looked amazing. Once Ranboo took a bite he was mesmerized by the taste, they started to shovel food into their mouth and Techno snorted, “Slow down, the food’s not gonna run from ‘ya.” he said, “Sorry,” Ranboo said, swallowing the food, “This is amazing,” they said, shoveling more of the soup into their mouth. “It’s my mother’s recipe, she used to make it for me when I was feeling down,” Techno said and Ranboo hummed, it reminded him of his mom. “My mom,” he hesitated before continuing, “She used to make us chocolate chip cookies whenever one of us felt down. They were so good that once Tommy fake cried just to get her to make them.” Ranboo chuckled at the memory and Techno chuckled with him, “That sounds like something he would do,” Techno said, as they were both giggling Ranboo’s phone rang.
“Well, speak of the devil,” Ranboo mumbled, Tommy was calling him. Ranboo contemplated on answering, I mean, Tommy is his little brother after all, what if something was wrong and he needed help?
Ranboo declined the call.
If something was wrong, Clementine could handle it.
.......
“Where are you? Tommy’s been trying to get a hold of you for hours!” Clem yelled through the phone, “I know I’m sorry I just–”
“You had us worried sick Ranboo!” She exclaimed, “I’m sorry for worrying you, I just needed some space.” Ranboo said, “Where are you?” Clem asked, “I’m–” Ranboo glanced at Techno who was cleaning the dishes, “I’m staying over at someone’s place. I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.” he could hear Clementine sigh on the other end, “Just be safe, okay? I love you.” she said, “Love you too.”
Ranboo sighed as he ended the call, “I’m assuming that was your sister?” Techno asked, sitting in the chair across from him, “Uh, yeah sorry, she was asking where I was.” Ranboo said, “You didn’t tell her where you were going?” Techno questioned, “Yeah, I know it sounds bad but, I just needed some space.” Ranboo responded, “I get that,” He said, “What happened? If you don’t mind me askin’ that is,” Ranboo sighed, “My brother and I had an argument and he said some…Hurtful things.” Hurtful is an understatement. “Well, I’m sure he didn’t mean what he said.” Techno said, “Yeah, maybe he didn’t.”
If he didn’t mean it, then why did he look so horrified at the sight of you using your powers?
Monster.
“Hey, do you wanna watch a movie?” Techno asked out of the blue, “Uh, sure” Ranboo replied, “Good, I think I have a few Disney movies somewhere.” Techno crossed over into the living room and opened one of the drawers on the table that held the TV up. After rummaging for a bit Techno pulled out a movie, “Right so, this is the only one I could find, I swear I had more…Where did I put them?” Techno mumbled; he began rummaging through the other drawers. Ranboo walked over and picked up the movie Techno had pulled out, ‘Finding Nemo’ Hm, that sounded interesting enough. “We can watch this one,” Ranboo said, “Are you sure? Because I can find the other ones, you just gotta give me a sec-” Before Techno could finish his sentence Ranboo stuck the DVD into the player and sat on the couch. Techno raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he closed the drawers and sat next to them on the couch.
Screaming.
Begging.
Pleading.
That all stopped the moment Ranboo let go.
“No” Ranboo whispered, and Dream laughed, “Look at what you’ve done!” he said, “No, no, no, no, no,” Ranboo mumbled, “I didn't–I–this wasn’t supposed to happen!” They exclaimed. Dream turned to them, and that eerie mask looked them in the face, “You did that,” he said, pointing to the ruined city. “Havoc did that.”
“No, I’m–I’m not–I didn’t–” Ranboo’s breath quickened, he could hear someone calling his name in the distance.
Wake up. Wake up. Wake–
“–up!” Ranboo woke up in a cold sweat. Their breathing was uneven, and their heart was beating out of their chest, “Hey kid, breathe, breathe.” Techno soothed, he took a deep breath and Ranboo tried to copy but fell short, “You’re okay, just breathe.” Techno grabbed their hand and put it on his chest so Ranboo could feel his heartbeat. Techno took another deep breath and this time Ranboo did the same. After a few minutes, Ranboo’s breathing had evened, though, their heart was still beating fast. He couldn’t forget that night. What he’d done. What Havoc had done. It made him sick.
“Kid? You, okay? You don’t look so good.” Techno asked, “I–I think I’m gonna be sick.” Ranboo got up and ran as quickly as possible to the bathroom, Techno cursed and ran after him. Techno held his hair and rubbed his back as Ranboo emptied his stomach into the toilet. Ranboo groaned, “Feel better?” Techno asked and Ranboo shook his head, “I’ll go get you some water.” Ranboo curled up next to the toilet as Techno left.
You’re being weak, stop acting like a baby and get up.
“Shut up,” Ranboo mumbled, but the voice continued.
You know I’m right.
He could kill you at any point, you’re vulnerable.
“He doesn’t seem like that kind of person though,”
What are you? Stupid?
That doesn’t matter! He could be hiding his true intentions, just like–
“Kid?” Techno’s voice cut through the voice in Ranboo’s head, “Who're you talking to?” he asked, handing a glass of water to Ranboo. “Uh, no one, I was just thinking out loud,” Ranboo replied, taking a sip of the water and swishing it around in his mouth, trying to get rid of the awful taste in his mouth. Techno sat next to him; he didn’t say a word, but Ranboo could tell he wanted to say something.
“Sorry for waking you up,” Ranboo mumbled, “Nah, it’s okay kid, I wasn’t sleepin’ anyway.” Techno waved him off, “So are you okay now? You're not gonna vomit again, are you?” Ranboo shook his head, “Yeah no I–I think I’m good now, thanks.” Ranboo sighed, “Sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble, I didn’t mean to–”
“Kid, it’s fine. You’ve got to stop apologizing for everything.” Techno said, “Oh, sorry–” Ranboo apologized again, and Techno snorted, “You know, you remind me a lot of myself,” he said, “Really? How?” Ranboo questioned, “Well, as a kid, I used to be quiet, and even if I hadn’t done anything I’d still apologize.” Techno answered, “Really? I thought you would’ve been more–”
“Aggressive? Well, I was at one point. Before Phil adopted me,”
“Wait, you’re adopted!?” Techno chuckled at that, “Yes, I am. And before I was adopted, I lived on the streets. Out there, you had to fight to survive, so I did what I had to do. I’m sure you can understand that.”
“Yeah, I can.” More than you know.
“So, what was it like? Your childhood I mean, it must've been cool growing up with so much money.”
“Ehh, it wasn’t all glamorous.” Techno continued, “As I said before, I grew up on the streets, so I was used to doing things on my own. I didn’t want help, I thought that anyone tryin’ to help me either wanted something from me or was just pitying me.”
“So, what changed?” Ranboo asked, “Well, over time, Phil showed me that he loved and cared about me, and you know Wilbur, he’s so stubborn, he wouldn’t leave me alone. He was so energetic and loud that I couldn’t ignore him.” Techno said and Ranboo snorted, “Sounds a lot like Tommy,” Ranboo continued, “Can you tell me more about what it was like living with them?” Ranboo asked, and that’s precisely what Techno did. They stayed on the bathroom floor like that, talking for hours until Ranboo eventually fell asleep, and Techno carried them out of the bathroom and into his bed while Techno himself slept on the couch.
That night, Ranboo got the best sleep he’s had in years.
Ranboo grimaced as they pulled up to the cafe, he wasn’t ready to go back but, they’d taken too many days off already and they needed money. They sighed as the car stopped, “Thanks for the ride.” They said, stepping out of the car, “No problem kid, just remember, you’re welcome at my place any time.” Techno said Ranboo nodded, and Techno pulled off as they entered the cafe.
“Ray! Nice to see you!” Puffy exclaimed, “Hey Puffy,” Ranboo waved, giving the woman a small smile. “Tommy is already in the back getting ready so you can join him.” Ranboo sighed, he wasn’t ready to talk to his brother yet. Walking into the staff room, Ranboo saw Tommy and Clementine talking in hushed voices. As soon as they saw Ranboo whatever conversation they were having stopped, Clementine jumped up and bear-hugged him, “You idiot!” She said, smacking the back of his head, “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” she exclaimed, “Sorry,” Ranboo said, rubbing the back of their head, “Didn’t mean to scare you.” Ranboo and Tommy made eye contact, he looked guilty. He opened his mouth, ready to say something but Ranboo grabbed his apron and walked out of the back room, “Ranboo, Ranboo wait!” he called, but Ranboo ignored him.
Catching up to them, Tommy grabbed their arm, “Ranboo I’m sorry, I didn’t mean–” Ranboo wrenched their arm out of his grip, “I don’t wanna talk about this right now Tommy.”
“But–”
“It’s fine, I know you didn’t mean it.”
“Are you sure? I know–”
The bell above the door rang and their first customer of the day walked in, “We can talk about this later, okay?” Tommy nodded and Ranboo walked into the kitchen and began work for the day.
“Morning Techno!” Niki greeted cheerfully, Techno grunted in response, “You seem grumpier than usual, what’s up?” She asked, “I was up all night taking care of a kid.” Techno sighed, “A kid?” Niki asked, surprised. “Yeah, you know Ray?”
“Ray? Why was he at your place?”
“He said he needed a place to stay for the night so, I took him to mine.”
Awww
Technosoft
Awww
He’s getting soft.
Softblade
“Shut up chat, I’m not getting soft,” Techno mumbled, he just offered the kid a place to stay, that’s nothing special.
That’s what Dadza did.
ADOPT HIM
Adopt him!
“I’m not adopting him, Shut up!” Techno said, “Chat bothering you?” Niki questioned, “Yeah they won’t shut up.” Techno gritted through his teeth. Suddenly, both their communicators went off. “A murder was committed on 3rd street. They need us there ASAP.” Techno nodded, “Let’s go,”
.........
“Holy shit,” Wilbur mumbled. The heroes looked at the crime scene in a sort of confusion, sat in an alleyway was a body that had been burnt to a crisp and there were scorch marks on the walls and ground. “What the hell happened here?” Phil questioned, “We’re not sure, We got a call about a disturbance, and when we got here…” The officer gestured to the body. Philza sighed, “This is the third one this week.”
Techno bent down to examine the body, the person’s eyes were wide, and their mouth was open. “Seems like they were caught off guard.” He could smell the fear in the air, “Do you have any idea of who might’ve done this?” Techno asked running his hand over the scorch marks, “Well, there are only a few people that can do this kind of damage. Phoenix, Overseer, Starlight, and–”
“Supernova,”
“But Supernova isn’t the type to murder, I’ve spoken to him before.” Wilbur said, “Well, according to the new information that Rosethorn provided Supernova isn’t the only one that can create psionic blasts, it seems that his partner Lunar Eclipse has been hiding his other abilities.” The officer said, “So what are you suggesting?” Niki asked though they all knew what the officer was saying, “For right now those two are the only suspects since they’re the only ones with that power other than your colleagues.” Techno sighed, looking back at the body,
“Looks like we have a couple of serial killers to catch.”
“Ranboo, c’mon, talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Ranboo said, jumping across another rooftop.
“I said I was sorry,”
“And I said it was fine,”
“Well, it obviously isn’t you haven’t talked to me all day!” Tommy exclaimed,
“Uh, guys?”
“We can talk about this later,”
“You said that earlier!”
“Guys,”
“Tommy, not right now.”
“Look I know I said some awful things but you gotta understand where I was coming from–”
“Tommy, I said not right now.”
“Well, if not now then when?”
“GUYS!”
Both boys stopped bickering, “There's a hero in your area, you need to get out of there before–”
“Hello, superstars,”
Shit.
Starlight stood in front of them, looking pissed.
She didn’t give them time to do or say anything as she sent a blast their way. “Woah! What’s with the hostility!?” Tommy said, rolling out of the way. Starlight didn’t say anything as she continued to send blasts of light in his direction. “Dude,” Tommy jumped out of the way of another blast, “What’s your problem!?” he exclaimed, “My problem? My problem is that you–” Starlight shot a blast that both boys narrowly dodged, “–Put my friend into a coma! And now you're killing people!” She shouted, throwing another ball of light their way, “Coma–Wait, killing people!? We haven't killed anybody!”
Starlight didn’t listen, instead, she took advantage of Tommy’s confusion and blasted him, almost knocking him off the building. “There have been burnt bodies showing up in the back of alleys, only a monster like one of you would do something like that.”
Ranboo froze.
Bodies?
Only one person would do something like that.
The wind began to pick up as Ranboo’s breathing became uneven. It had to be him, only he would do something like that.
But that couldn’t be true. Ranboo had made sure he wouldn’t find them so how was he here?
Ranboo’s eyes began to glow as their thoughts began to spiral. Back when they were living in Logsted, the people who disobeyed were burned alive. Sometimes he would have one of the kids kill the prosecuted, nine times out of ten he would have Tommy or Ashlynn do it.
“You’re right,” Ranboo mumbled, Starlight turned to him, “What?” She asked out of confusion, “I said you’re right, that is something a monster would do.” He said as he began to hover off the ground. “Lunar,” Tommy called, “Lunar stop!” Tommy’s plea fell on deaf ears. Ranboo couldn’t stop, their heart was beating too fast and the voices in his head were too loud.
Monster
Murderer
This is your fault.
Your fault
Starlight’s eyes began to glow and Ranboo didn’t even realize what he was doing until–
Tommy screamed as Starlight walked off the edge of the building. Ranboo snapped out of it and fell to the ground. He gasped and leaned over the edge to catch Starlight before she hit the ground. He was aware of the crowd below, watching him as he used his powers to gently set the hero on the sidewalk. Ranboo’s vision became blurry and as everything went black, he heard his brother yell out his name.
Muffled talking was heard from the other room, “He did what?”
“He almost killed her, Clem. He almost made Starlight walk off the building.”
“But he saved her, right?”
“Yeah, but, what if he hadn’t?”
“It didn’t seem like he wanted to hurt her, something was wrong.”
“I'm worried about him Clem, he’s been acting off ever since that fight with Jinx, what if–”
Ranboo stopped listening, he didn’t want to hear anything else. He got up on shaky legs and went to the bathroom. Splashing water on his face he sighed.
They think you’re weak.
They think something’s wrong with you.
“Shut up,” Ranboo growled.
You need to show them.
Show them who you really are.
“I SAID SHUT UP!” The mirror shattered as Ranboo shouted. He gasped putting a hand over his mouth, he could hear someone calling out to him and footsteps approaching, he couldn’t stay here, he needed to leave.
“Ranboo?” Clementine called but she found nothing but a broken mirror and an open window.
Across the city, another innocent person was killed and along with scorch marks, there was a message.
𝑻𝒂𝒈 :)
Notes:
Heroes:
Rosethorn-Hannahxxrose
Jinx-Tinakitten
Starlight-Sylvee
Actual notes
⇩
Ranboo is not having fun right now.
Peerpressure Duo my beloved!
Did Techno's story sound a little familiar? Yeah, he and Ranboo are very similar, and you'll see more of that in future chapters. We're getting into the more serious parts of this story, don't worry there will still be a little bit of fluff thrown into it but it's about to get a lot more angsty so be prepared! Also, there's a killer on the loose! How fun is that! But in all seriousness a lot more killing will be happening so take this as a warning.
Anyways, how did you guys like this chapter? Let me know in the comments and feel free to ask any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
As always, I love you all! Take care of yourselves and I'll see you next time friends!
Chapter 10: Sunflowers and Roses
Summary:
“He called me a monster.” Ranboo revealed, “Tommy called me a monster.” Repeating the words out loud made them hurt worse. His brother had called him a monster. “And the worst part is that he’s right.”
Notes:
If you thought this was gonna be a happy chapter because of the title, you were wrong.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Techno was surprised by a knock at the door; he hadn’t been expecting anyone, especially not at midnight. Techno sighed as he put his book down. Of course, someone had to interrupt him when the book was getting good. He sighed, thinking that it was probably his brother. Techno grumbled, “He better have a good reason for being here this late.”
“What do you want–” Techno paused, standing outside was a distressed-looking Ray, “Kid? What’re you–”
“Techno–Tec–I–I need your help–” Ray gasped, he was shaking and there were tears in his eyes. Techno cursed and pulled the kid into the apartment. Techno led Ray to the couch and sat him down, “Kid, you need to breathe.” Techno said but Ray shook their head, “I can’t–I–I can’t–” Ray choked out a sob, the lights flickered, the table shook, and the glass on one of Techno’s family pictures cracked but he paid no mind. “Yes, you can. ” Techno kneeled before the distressed boy and put their hand on his chest, “Just follow my lead, okay?” Techno took a deep breath and began counting backward from ten. Ray attempted to copy him but failed. They began to hyperventilate again and the lights flickered once more, “Tec–I can’t–” They began but Techno cut them off, “Yes you can, just copy me.” He started from ten once again and continued to one. By that time Ray’s breathing had even out and their tears had slowed, after a bit of silence, Ray spoke up. “I’m–”
“It’s ok kid, you don’t have to apologize.” He said it was quiet for a moment. Techno didn’t know what to say, he’s never been good at comforting people, let alone children. He felt bad, this kid had come to him looking for comfort and Techno had no idea what to say or do. “Do you need anything? Water? Clothes? A hug?” He asked but Ray shook his head. The kid hesitated before asking, “Can I stay here for a few days? I–I know it’s a lot to ask–”
“Of course, you can kid, when I told you that you were welcome here anytime I meant it.” Ray breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had said no.”
“What do you mean? Did something happen?” Techno asked. Ray hesitated, “Nothing, I just–I needed to get away.” He said, Techno could tell that there was something Ray wasn’t telling him but he didn’t push, instead Techno picked up the book he’d been reading before and read out the title. Ray looked at him with a puzzled expression but Techno took that as a sign to continue. He began reading from the last page he was on, he read as Ray got comfortable on the couch and continued to read even after Ray had fallen asleep. He only stopped reading when Ray’s phone rang, taking a glance at the sleeping kid next to him Techno picked up the phone.
“Ranboo? Ranboo you can’t just disappear like that! Where are you?” A voice spoke, “Uh, I’m not Ranboo but I can assure you that he’s safe.” Techno said. He assumed Ranboo was Ray's nickname. (Weird nickname but ok) It was quiet for a bit before the person on the other line began yelling at him, “Who are you and what have you done with my brother!?” The girl screamed, “I–Nothing! You’re brothers fine.” Techno said, “He’s just staying at my house for a bit,” he explained, that seemed to calm the girl down because she stopped yelling and instead asked, “Well, can I speak to him?” Techno glanced at Ray who was sound asleep on his couch, “He’s sleeping but I’ll be sure to let him know you called.” They exchanged a few more words before the call ended. Techno sighed as he sat in the kitchen, he could already tell that this kid would get him in a lot of trouble.
Ranboo woke up with his heart beating out of his chest. Their breathing was uneven, and their chest felt tight, he could only remember bits and pieces of the nightmare, ( the screaming, the crying, the look of fear on Tommy’s face) but it was enough to put them on edge. Trying to calm down, Ranboo focused on the things around them. They could see that they were in Techno’s apartment and could vaguely remember the events that transpired earlier, or was that yesterday? Ranboo realized that he didn’t know what time it was or how long he’d slept. Ranboo sat up and surveyed the room, It was still dark but the clock said 6:00 AM. He got off the couch on shaky legs and almost tripped over Floof. He mumbled an apology to the dog and continued to the kitchen only to be startled when the motion sensor light by the stove turned on and Techno appeared, sitting at the counter mumbling something to himself.
“Jesus!” Ranboo exclaimed, “Wha–Why are you just sitting in the dark?” Techno didn’t respond, he didn’t even look at Ranboo he just continued to mumble to himself. He seemed to be conflicted about something, “Techno?” Ranboo reached out to touch him but quickly retracted their hand as Techno snarled at them. His eyes were blood red and his fangs were on full display. Techno immediately snapped out of it once he saw Ranboo, “Oh god, did I scare you? I’m sorry, shit I–” Techno ran a hand through his frazzled hair, “Are–Are you okay?” Ranboo asked, “Yeah kid, I’m fine. I just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.” Techno said, “Did I wake you?” Ranboo shook their head and sat down at the counter beside Techno, “No, I just…Couldn’t sleep.” There was silence for a moment before Techno spoke again, “Your sister called.”
“She did?” That wasn’t a surprise. She was probably looking for him. “She was really worried about you, and said you just disappeared,” Techno said. He looked concerned and Ranboo knew he was going to start asking questions so Ranboo prepared to lie.
Just as he suspected Techno asked a question, “Kid, what happened?” he asked, “Nothing happened, I told you already. I just needed to get away.” Ranboo lied, “Kid, you can to me having a severe panic attack, You looked like you were about to pass out.” Techno continued, “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to but I just want to know what’s going on.” He said, “Why do you care so much?” Ranboo asked, “Because you showed up on my doorstep asking for my help, I can’t help you if I don’t know anything.” Techno explained. Ranboo was prepared to lie again but something about the soft look on Techno’s face made him talk, “He called me a monster.” Ranboo revealed, “Tommy called me a monster.” Repeating the words out loud made them hurt worse. His brother had called him a monster. “And the worst part is that he’s right.”
“I am a monster.” Ranboo curled up in the chair, trying to make himself ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ smaller. “You are not a monster,” Techno said with an unexpected amount of softness. “You don’t know that you don’t know what I’ve done,” Ranboo said, “I–”
Don’t.
If you tell him, he’ll lock you away.
He’ll hate you.
He’ll see you for what you are.
A murderer.
A Monster.
“You what?” Techno questioned. Ranboo hesitated, the voice in his head screaming at him to not say anything, “I–I can’t tell you.” He whispered, curling into himself more. Techno sighed, “I’ve done things that I’m not proud of. Hell, I should probably be locked in Pandora’s Box right now but the point is, we all make mistakes. It’s what makes us human.” He said. Ranboo didn’t say anything, they didn’t even look at him and Techno sighed, “You know what I see when I look at you? I see myself.” Techno continued, “A scared kid that needs help but is unwilling to take it because they’ve failed one too many times.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Ranboo asked, “Because I want you to know that I’ve been where you are right now and I understand how hard it is to trust that people only want what’s best for you. And I know you’ve heard this a lot but, you can trust me and my family.” Ranboo rolled his eyes, “I’m serious kid, I want to help you.” Ranboo looked Techno in the eyes, searching for any sign that he was lying but found nothing, “Ok,” he said, “But you have to promise.” Ranboo held out his pinky and Techno did the same, linking them. “I promise,” he said. Ranboo gave him a small smile that Techno returned, “This doesn’t mean I trust you though.” Ranboo asserted, “That’s ok kid, I’ll still be here whenever you need me.” Techno said and Ranboo hoped that he wouldn’t break that promise.
Techno, Wilbur, George, Niki, Fundy, Hannah, and Sam all sat in the conference room, talking amongst themselves, waiting for the meeting to begin. Well, everyone except George, he was asleep, his mushroom hat was pulled down over his face and he was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, feet on the table, and snoring. Techno wishes he could be like George, instead, he’s being pestered by his brother. “Wilbur, please leave me alone.”
“You’re becoming like Phil Tech, adopting strays.” Wilbur teased, “I did not adopt him, the kid needed help so I provided.” Techno said, “Technodad,” Wilbur said and Techno rolled his eyes, “Please, it’s not like you’re any better. It’s always, Tommy this and Tommy that.” he said, “Oh c’mon Tech, don’t act like you’re not becoming attached to him too.” Wilbur said. He wouldn’t lie, he was becoming attached to the two boys but before he could say anything Phil walked in, signaling the start of the meeting.
“I assume you all know what happened so I don’t have to explain anything.” He said, standing at the head of the table. “So it seems that Lunar Eclipse has been hiding his powers.” He pulled up a video that showed Starlight jumping off of a building but before she hit the ground she was engulfed by purple magic and gently laid on the sidewalk. “Wait, so you mean to tell me he has more powers?” Fundy said, “Seems like it, the most we know right now is that he was teleportation powers and telekinesis.” Phil replied, “From the information I gathered from Sylvee, he might also have mind control powers.” Sam added, “She said when she jumped off of the building she didn’t have control over her own body. Like someone was controlling her.” He explained, “Great, so he has teleportation, telekinesis, and possibly mind control. What next?” Fundy groaned, “Wait, but if he was controlling Sylvee, why did he save her?” Hannah questioned, “Maybe he can’t control it.” Wilbur said, “When I first got my powers, I couldn’t control them, maybe he’s the same way.” He suggested, “Sylvee did say he seemed upset before she lost control over her body. Maybe his powers work based on emotions.” Sam supplied.
That made Techno think.
When Ray was having a panic attack, things in his apartment started shaking but once he had calmed down, so did everything else and the same thing happened when he was having nightmares. Maybe Ray had powers that were based on his emotions.
Tunning back into the conversation, Techno heard Phil talking about the possibilities Sapnap had suggested, “Where is Sapnap? He and Quackity were supposed to be here.” Just then Quackity burst through the doors causing George to wake up and almost fall out of his chair. “There’s something wrong with Karl,” Karl’s eyes were a swirl of green and purple signifying that his powers were activated, and his face was as pale as a ghost.
“He’s been like this all week; he’s never taken longer than three days to come back.” Sapnap explained, “Well, is there any way of snapping him out of it?” Niki asked and Quackity shook his head, “We have no idea what timeline he’s in so if we brought him back before he was ready it would damage his memory.” he said, “The only thing we can do is wait for him to come back.”
“And how long will that take?” Sam asked, “Days, weeks, months, years, maybe even a decade. We’re not exactly sure.” Sapnap confessed, “A decade!?” Wilbur exclaimed, “Well, it’s never taken longer than a week so it’s possible.” Sapnap said. Everyone started to murmur and whisper about the current situation, “There has to be something we can do, I mean we can’t just sit here and wait. There could be something serious happening and I don’t know about everyone else but I do not want to sit here and wait when there is a possibility that something catastrophic is coming.” Sam said and everyone agreed, “There’s nothing we can do Sam,” Quackity continued, “It would damage his memory if we pulled him out of the timeline he’s in.”
“So what he gets a little memory loss. It’s better than all of us sitting here waiting for answers.” Sam replied, “Are you suggesting that we try and bring Karl back, even if it puts his health at risk?” Sapnap furiously stood up from his seat, “All I’m saying is, what harm could a little memory loss do? I mean, look at Fundy, he can’t even remember his last name and he’s just fine.” Fundy’s ears flattened at the mention of his memory loss and Niki grabbed his hand and squeezed it in an attempt to comfort him. “What harm– Sam are you fucking kidding me!?” Quackity yelled, “Karl could forget everything and you’re asking what harm that could do!?” Quackity’s wings puffed out and his ears turned red as Sam’s face was indifferent, “I’m just saying, what if when he comes back it’s already too late?” Sam said, “I think him losing his memory is better than us dying because we waited for him.”
“Sam!” Hannah exclaimed, “Oh you son of a–” Quackity lunged at Sam trying to hit him, but Sapnap held him back. Sam didn’t look scared, instead, he had a small smirk on his face like he knew Quackity wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. “Sam, that’s enough. We are not pulling Karl out, end of discussion.” Phil asserted, “There’s another problem though,” Sapnap said, “He wrote this down before his powers activated.” He pulled out a piece of paper and laid it out on the table.
⋏⟟☌⊑⏁⋔⏃⍀⟒ ⟟⌇ ⌰⍜⍜⋔⟟⋏☌
⊑⏃⎐⍜☊ ⟟⌇ ⟒⋔⟒⍀☌⟟⋏☌
⎅⟒⏃⏁⊑ ⟟⌇ ⟟⋔⋔⟟⋏⟒⋏⏁
⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⏃⍀⟒ ⍙⏃⏁☊⊑⟟⋏☌
⊬⍜⎍ ⋔⎍⌇⏁ ⌇⏁⍜⌿ ⊑⟟⋔
⊑⟒ ⟟⌇ ⟟⋏⟒⎐⟟⏁⏃⏚⌰⟒
⌇⏁⍜⌿ ⊑⟟⋔
“What the hell is that?” George asked, “We’re not sure, it’s in some kind of language.” Sapnap answered, “Looks like Ender language but I’m not sure.” Niki said, “Can you translate it?” Phil asked but Niki shook her head, “It’s an ancient language, we would need someone native to The End to translate.” Phil sighed and rubbed his temples, “Okay, I think that’s enough for one meeting. Quackity, and Sapnap, take Karl to the medical bay so they can keep an eye on him. Niki, Tech I need you to try and translate that note.”
“Meeting adjourned.”
Techno sighed as he entered the breakroom, that was… A lot, to say the least. He could see Sam, Quackity, and Sapnap presumably arguing about what was said during the meeting. Techno watched Sapnap storm off and upon getting closer he heard Sam say something of great concern, “You better watch your back Quackity, I’m sure the board would love to hear about your little secret.” He threatened. After he walked off, Techno approached Quackity, “Did he just threaten you?” He asked, “No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Quackity responded, “Really? ‘Cause to me it sounded like he just threatened you.” Quackity gave him a look that told him to back off and Techno raised his hands in surrender, “Okay I get it, I’ll back off. But, for what it’s worth, I’ll have your back if Sam ever decides he wants to get physical.” Quackity snorted and shook his head, “I thought we were enemies,” he said, “We are, but I hate Sam more so,” Quackity laughed, “Thank you Technoblade,” Techno gave him a small pat on the shoulder and left.
Techno sighed as he grabbed a drink from the fridge, today was a long day and he needed a break. Just as he sat down though, he got a call from Ranboo.
Tommy breathed a sigh of relief as the last customer left the cafe. He flipped the sign to closed and began wiping down the tables, it had been a slow day, probably due to the gloomy weather. He had tried speaking to Ranboo but he was promptly ignored and Wilbur hadn’t shown up today so Tommy was left with no one to talk to but the occasional customer that entered the cafe. Bored and done with his tasks, Tommy walked into the backroom where he found Ranboo wiping off the counter, “Hey, I’m all finished in the front if you need some help.” he said, “I’m good.” Ranboo replied, “Are you sure? Because I can help–”
“I’ve got it, Tommy,” Ranboo said sharply and Tommy flinched. Ranboo had never talked to him like that, not even when he was mad. “Are you mad at me?” Tommy asked and Ranboo sighed, “No, I’m not mad at you.”
“Really? Because it seems like you’re mad at me and I want to fix it but I don’t know how and–” Tommy said anxiously, he had to stop himself to take a deep breath, “I’m not mad Tommy. Look, we can talk about this when we get home, I promise.” Ranboo said and Tommy nodded, not saying anything else because if he opened his mouth more words would fall off his tongue.
The train ride home felt like an eternity, Tommy did his best to keep it together as his leg bounced uncontrollably. Nothing was said until they got back to the apartment. Immediately, Ranboo went into their shared bedroom and started packing, “What are you doing?” Tommy asked, “Packing, I’m gonna stay with a friend for a bit.” Ranboo explained and Tommy began to panic, “What? Why? Is it because of the things I said? You–You know I didn’t mean it, right? I didn’t mean to upset you, I’m sorry. You’re not a monster, you know that. I was just angry and–”
“I know you didn’t mean it, Tommy, it’s okay.” Ranboo soothed, “So, you’re not mad?” Tommy asked, “No, I’m not mad.” Ranboo said, “Then why are you still packing? Why are you still leaving?” Tommy asked, “I–I need space Tommy, the things you said…”
“I didn’t mean it! I promise I didn’t mean it.” Tommy rushed out, “No, you were right. My powers…They’re out of control.” Ranboo continued, “I’m afraid that if I stay here, I’m gonna hurt you, or Clem, maybe even Tubbo.”
“I–I can help you! We can help you!” Tommy continued, “We can find out what triggers them–”
“Tommy–”
“We–We can train, we can help you learn more about them–”
“Tommy please–”
“We–We can help. I can help, just–just let me–”
“TOMMY STOP!”
The room shook and Tommy flinched, his eyes became glossy and Ranboo’s expression immediately became one of guilt “Sorry, sorry I didn’t–”
“I’m sorry, please don’t leave, please.” He whispered and Ranboo sighed, “Tommy listen to me,” He cupped Tommy's cheeks and wiped the tears falling from his eyes, “I am not leaving you, okay? I just need a bit of space to figure out what’s happening to me, but I am not leaving you, I can’t, you’re my brother.” He continued, “I’m going to stay with Techno until I sort all of this out, but I’ll come back home eventually. You’ll still see me at work and on patrol, we can still hang out if you want but I won’t be at home.” Tommy's voice shook, “Why? Why can’t you just stay?” He asked, “Because I’m afraid of hurting you, and I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if I ever did.” Ranboo said softly, more tears began running down Tommy’s face as Ranboo zipped up his bag. “When will you come back?” He asked, “I’m not sure,” Ranboo answered, and that’s when Tommy understood that his brother might not return to their apartment. Just as Ranboo was about to leave Tommy embraced him in a tight hug and whispered, “Please come back soon.” Ranboo hugged him back and whispered into his hair, “I will, I promise.” He let go of Tommy and left him standing in their once-shared bedroom, the sound of the front door closing made Tommy drop down to his knees. He let out a sob, the apartment had never felt so empty.
Ranboo felt cold as he stepped outside of the apartment, his heart broke as he heard Tommy let out a sob on the other side of the door. He felt awful, he knew how much Tommy struggled with being separated from him, and it pained him to hear him break down at the idea of Ranboo not living in their apartment anymore. He wanted to go back and hold his brother, tell him that it was alright and that he would stay but he didn’t. Instead, he called Techno to come pick him up.
“Hey kid,” Techno greeted as Ranboo got into the car, “Hi,” Ranboo mumbled, “How’d it go?” Techno asked and Ranboo sighed, “He uh, didn’t take it very well.” Techno hummed, “He’ll get over it, plus this is for your well–being. I’m sure he understands.” Ranboo wasn’t too sure that he did but didn’t disagree. The rest of the car ride was relatively quiet save for the soft music playing and Techno quietly humming along. Ranboo tuned them out, not being able to focus on anything other than the image of his baby brother crying. He felt guilty, leaving his brother in despair like that. He started to rethink his decision, what if something happened and Ranboo wasn’t there to stop it? Logically, Ranboo knew nothing would happen, especially not with Clementine there but he still worried. What if Tommy hated him for this, what if–
“Hey, hey look at me,” Techno said snapping Ranboo out of his spiral, Techno had pulled the car over and they were now parked on a random street, “Breath,” He said and Ranboo shook his head, “Tommy’s gonna hate me for this, he’s gonna hate me.” Ranboo choked out through labored breaths, “No he’s not, he’s not gonna hate you. He’s your brother.” Techno said, “Exactly, and I left him! I left him while he still needs me.” Ranboo exclaimed, “Wha–what if something happens? What if–What if–” What if Dream found Tommy, what if he found their apartment and took Tommy back to that place while Ranboo wasn’t there? Then what?
“Ranboo, nothing is going to happen to your brother. Your sister is there, right?” Ranboo nodded and Techno continued, “Then Tommy will be fine.” He stated, “But–”
“No buts, this is for your mental health, Tommy will be fine without you.” Ranboo sighed, “I know that logically but…In my head, if I'm not there…”
“Something will happen.” Techno finished and Ranboo nodded, “I get it but, what you need to understand is that Tommy isn’t alone. He isn’t in that apartment by himself, I understand your sister wasn’t around for a while, right?” Ranboo affirmed and Techno went on, “Right so you two have been living alone, depending solely on each other. But you have to realize that you aren’t alone anymore, other people are willing to help you, you just have to let them.” It wasn’t that easy though, Ranboo couldn’t just let them help , he needed to be sure that they were trustworthy, and even then, he still wouldn’t reveal anything, scared of the things that happened last time he ‘let someone help them’ .
“I don’t wanna talk about this anymore,” Ranboo muttered, “That’s fine, we can talk about something else,” And that’s what they did, Techno leading the conversation. Ranboo listened as Techno talked about the things he liked to do in his free time, Ranboo would occasionally add something, talking about things he liked or asking Techno a question. They got burgers for dinner and continued to talk about random topics on the ride home. It was a nice distraction from all of the thoughts running through Ranboo’s mind but distractions didn’t last forever.
........
Ranboo sighed as he looked up at the sky, he could see a few stars in the sky and thought about how beautiful they were. It reminded him of Aimsey, she would’ve loved to see how beautiful the sky looked when you could see all of the stars. He missed Aimsey, Bill, Micheal, and everyone else. He hated that he couldn’t go back to save them, he hated how scared he was at the idea of even returning to Logsted. He prayed to every god out there that his friends were okay. Just hang in there a little longer guys, I’ll come back for you. I swear.
The door to the balcony slid open, and Techno appeared next to him, “Hey,” He said, “Hey,” Ranboo replied. There was a bit of silence before Techno spoke again, “You doing alright?” He asked, “I’m fine,” Ranboo assured, “Y’know, I’m not some kid that you have to check on every 5 minutes. I’m nineteen,” That was a lie, he was seventeen, but he would be turning eighteen in a couple of months, so it didn’t matter, “I know, I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I headed to bed.” Techno said, “Well, I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry.” Ranboo replied. It sounded rather rude, but Ranboo didn’t care at the moment. He just wanted to be left alone, but it seemed that Techno didn’t take the hint as he sat next to Ranboo on the ground.
Neither of them said anything, both of them watching the sky. “You like the stars?” Techno asked suddenly, “Uh yeah, my friend…She used to talk about them all the time.” Ranboo explained, “Well, I have a book that gives you all the information you could ever want on stars. You can have it if you want.” Techno said, “Really?”
“Yeah, lemme go grab it quickly.” Techno stood and went inside to grab the book. It wasn’t long before he came back with a thick book and handed it to Ranboo. It looked brand new, Ranboo flipped through the pages and marveled at the pictures of constellations and different stars, “Thanks, Techno,” Aimsey would love this, He thought. “It’s no problem, I was never really into space anyway, so now the book won’t go to waste.” Ranboo smiled at him, and Techno returned it, “I’m gonna head to bed now, don’t stay up too late.” Techno said, shutting the sliding door behind him. Ranboo flipped through more pages, remembering the things Aimsey used to talk about. He wished they were here right now to ramble on and on about how big the universe was and how little they all were compared to it.
His phone buzzed, and Ranboo picked it up to see an incoming call from Tubbo, “Hello?”
“Ranboo, I found him.”
“I’m on my way,” Ranboo said, ending the call. He teleported away, the book of stars left on the table, forgotten, and a pair of crimson eyes staring at the purple particles left floating on the vacant balcony.
Notes:
Accidentally deleted the chapter LOL, sorry about that.
Chapter 11: my little dove (why do you cry?)
Summary:
“The words you shouted; did you mean them?”
The truth is, Tommy didn’t know. Ranboo wasn’t a monster but, with the things Dream made them do plus them losing control of their powers, Tommy was scared. He was afraid that Ranboo would lose themself and become that monster that they tried so desperately to control.
Notes:
I feel it coming out my throat
Guess I better wash my mouth out with soap
God, I wish I never spoke
Now I gotta wash my mouth out with soap
-Soap by Melanie Martinez
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tommy sighed as he stared at the big casino, “Are you sure he’s here?” Bright lights illuminated the streets as a large sign pointed to the building.
𝓛𝓪𝓼 𝓝𝓮𝓿𝓪𝓭𝓪𝓼
𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒
“That’s what the radar says,” Tubbo responded. Tommy huffed and entered the casino. Loud music filled his ears as they stepped through the double doors. The smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol burned his nostrils, and the sound of coins and shouts filled the place as people gambled their money away. Las Nevadas, a haven for heroes, villains, and vigilantes. A place where they could come and relax in their civilian forms without worrying about being exposed. “Y’know, you guys never explained why we’re looking for this dude.” Tubbo said, “You’ll find out sooner or later.” Tommy responded.
Walking through the casino Tommy watched as people gambled their money and drank to their heart's desire (or until their liver failed). “Where are we going Nuke?” Tommy asked, “Back of the casino, there should be a door, and someone should be waiting for you there.” Tommy nodded, and they continued to walk through the casino as people eyed them. Reaching the back of the casino, Tommy saw a big metal door, and just as Tubbo said someone was waiting for them. “Supernova, Lunar Eclipse. Jester said you would be coming.” Monarch spoke, “Right this way,” He punched in a code, opening the door and the duo followed the villain into the dark hallway, unaware of the eyes watching them from afar.
Walking down the dark hallway, Monarch led them to large dark oak double doors. He knocked and opened the doors to reveal a vast room, “Sir, your guests are here.” Jester sat at a large desk in the middle of the room, “My two favorite vigilantes! Still in uniform, I see. Please, come in, have a seat.” Upon entering the room both boys realized they weren’t alone. Leviathan, one of Jester’s most trusted members, closed the door behind them as they walked in. But he wasn’t the one they were worried about as Stain and his partner Arcane stood in opposite corners of the room. “I hired some extra protection since there are some…Concerning rumors going on about you two. I hope you don’t mind.” Jester said. Stain and Arcane were a dangerous pair, known for being hitmen. Tommy has only had one run-in with them and from what he saw…He’d rather not be one of their victims. “No, that’s…That’s fine,” Tommy said, glancing at Arcane. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and chewing gum. Tommy looked at the gun in her holster and then back up at the assassin who winked at him.
“So, what brings you two here?” The villain asked, “We’re looking for someone.” Tommy answered. He slid a picture across the desk, “They call him The Red Saint,”
“And you think he’s here?” The villain questioned, “We know he’s here.” Tommy stated. “Look, I don’t know what you’re getting at here, but I don’t know anything about this Red Saint,” Jester claimed. “Maybe this–” Tommy slid another picture over, “–Will jog your memory.” Jester’s eyes widened as he stared at the picture of him shaking hands with a shadowy figure. “How’d you get this?” He asked, “I have my ways,” Tommy said, “Now tell me where he is.” He demanded.
Jester laughed, “Or what? Huh?” he asked, “You’re gonna hit me with your little fireworks?” He mocked. Tommy laughed with him, “Y’know, my ‘little fireworks’ can do a lot of damage. Want me to demonstrate?” Tommy stood up but his partner pulled him back down, giving him a stern look. Tommy saw Arcane grip her gun from the corner of his eye. “Tommy, be careful. These are dangerous people we’re messing with.” Tubbo warned. Tommy took a deep breath, “Look, just give us his location and we’ll be outta your hair.” He said, “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Tommy gritted his teeth, “Listen, Jester, I’m not sure you understand the situation–”
“Oh, I think I understand perfectly. Red Saint asked that I keep his location hidden simply because there were people after him.” The Villian said, “And I believe that you’re the people he was talking about.” Tommy scoffed, “Oh believe me when I say that someone way worse than us is looking for him. So, I suggest you tell us where he is before things get messy.” Jester scoffed, “I don’t think you know who you’re messing with here–”
“Oh, I am well aware of who you are Jester.” Tommy snarled, “Look kid, I suggest you and your partner leave now before–”
“I AM NOT LEAVING WITHOUT MY WINGS!” Tommy shouted, slamming his hands against the desk. Without hesitation, Leviathan hardened his skin, turning a golden color, Arcane pointed a gun at Tommy, and Stain detached his mask, revealing multiple rows of sharp teeth. Lunar, who had pulled out his knives, looked back at Tommy.
Jester smirked, “Wings, huh? What else are you hiding?” Tommy growled, “I’m not playing your games, Jester.” He gritted. “I bet Red had a good reason for taking them away.” Jester mocked, “Do you want another scar on your other eye to match the other?” Tommy said and the villain tilted his head, “Is that a threat?” He asked, “I don’t know, it depends.” Tommy shrugged, “Where. Is. He.” Tommy demanded, getting closer to the villain’s face. They stared at one another before Jester held up his hand, “Stand down.” He said, “But, sir, they threatened you.” Leviathan protested, “Are you sure–”
“I said stand down.” Leviathan glared at Ranboo and Tommy before unhardening his skin. Stain and Arcane looked at each other before Arcane reluctantly put down her gun and Stain reattached his mask.
“Now, I assume you were looking for Red because he was the one who took your wings away, correct?” Jester questioned and Tommy nodded. The villain hummed, “I’ll take you to him, but you’ll owe me a favor.” He said, “What kind of favor are we talking about?” Tommy asked, “Anything.” The villain responded, “Anything?” Jester nodded and Tommy thought for a second. Was this a smart idea? Making a deal with a well-known villain? “Tommy, think about this. Is this really a good idea?” Tubbo voiced his concerns, but Tommy had already made up his mind. “Deal,” Jester smiled, and they shook on it. “Great!” The villain exclaimed. He hit a button hidden under his desk and a part of the wall opened up. “Right this way,” Jester said, disappearing into the darkness. Tommy and Ranboo looked at each other before following the villain.
As they walked into the tunnel the entrance closed behind them. It was dark for a moment before Jester lit a torch that barely let them see a few feet before them. “Follow me,” he said, walking further into the tunnel. Tommy and Ranboo followed cautiously while Leviathan walked behind them. “Guys, this seems extremely suspicious. I–I’m not sure this was a good idea. I can’t even–” Tubbo’s voice cut out and static filled Tommy’s ears. “Nuke?” His earpiece continued to cut out as Tubbo talked, “–ommy? I can’t–” Tubbo cut out again, “The signal is–” Static replaced Tubbo’s voice. “Nuke? You there?” Tommy checked his communicator and cursed as he saw no signal. “Oh yeah, I forgot to warn you that communicators don’t work here,” Jester gave him a mcking smile. Tommy rolled his eyes, and they continued down the tunnel.
The deeper they went, the darker it got, and Tommy was starting to get anxious. He began taking deep breaths to try and stay calm but the longer they walked the more nervous he got. What if this was a trap? As Tommy began to rethink his choice of trusting the villain, they reached a door with a padlock. Jester went to unlock it but stopped midway, “Before I unlock this door, I should warn you that Red isn’t very fond of... Visitors.” He warned, “Oh, I’m sure we’ll be an exception.” Tommy said as the villain unlocked the door.
“Red,” The villain called, “You have visitors.” The room was dim, though he couldn’t see much, he could see a small table with two chairs sitting in the corner of the room and a small kitchen before Tommy could examine the rest of the room, (not like he could see much anyway) The Red Saint appeared, his pure white eyes stood out against the darkness. “I was expecting you two.” He said, “Leave us, there are some things we have to discuss.” Jester nodded and left, leaving the three of them alone. “Saint?” Tommy scoffed, “I doubt people would be calling you that if they knew who you were, Bad.” He voiced. “Nice to see you too, Tommy. I see you’ve managed to escape Dream’s grasp.” Bad said as he moved through the shadows, “Yeah, no thanks to you! First, you take my wings, then you left us to fucking rot with that sick bastard!” Tommy exclaimed, “You must understand, it was more complex than that.” The demon spoke, “I had no choice.”
“No, you had a choice Bad. You CHOSE to help Dream with his experiments, even though you knew, YOU FUCKING KNEW, how badly we were suffering. You chose to sit by and watch as we were tortured and used for Dream's personal gain. You did nothing! NOTHING!” Tommy screamed; his eyes filled with anger. “Then, you ran away like a fucking coward!” He exclaimed, “Tommy, you don’t understand–”
“No, YOU don’t fucking understand. Do you know how bad it was? How bad it was to have to watch other kids be killed from the experiments Dream did on them and not be able to do anything? Do you know how powerless I felt?” Tommy’s voice broke on the last part. “I know, Tommy. I too was powerless.” Bad said sadly, “How!? Dream had no control over you! You could’ve helped, you could’ve set us free! But no, you stood there and watched. You stood there and did nothing, like a fucking coward.”
That seemed to set Bad off because he stepped out of the shadows and into the light allowing the boys to see him better. “He had my best friend in a cage. He was going to kill him if I didn’t cooperate, I had no choice but to bind your wings. I had no choice but to help with the experiments, I had no choice but to watch as kids suffered and died because of what he was doing. I had no choice because if I disobeyed even one order, Dream would’ve killed him.” Bad snapped, “So don’t you dare tell me I had a choice because I didn’t.” He spat. “You could’ve taken us with you. You could’ve turned our collars off, opened our cages, or something! But instead, you left us to rot, to die at the hands of that masked monster.” Tommy spat; he could feel the energy building on his fingertips as his anger grew. “I HAD NO CHOICE!” Bad’s voice boomed throughout the room. A chill ran down Tommy’s spine as Bad’s humanoid figure stretched out and he stood to his full height. “He murdered Skeppy because I tried helping you. Dream MURDERED him because I tried setting you free.” Tommy took a step back as he got closer, “I tried to help you, but it only resulted in more bloodshed. That’s why I left. There was nothing I could do except save myself and that’s what I did.”
Tommy fell silent. There were so many things he wanted to say but the thoughts were forming faster than he could say them. He wanted to scream and shout profanities at Bad for leaving them and “saving himself” but he couldn’t. He couldn’t because he understood, he understood that Bad was doing what was best for the one he loved. He understood because he would’ve done the same thing if it were him and Ranboo.
Before he could say anything, though, Jester burst into the room, “Heroes have been spotted in the area, so I suggest you wrap up whatever you’re doing and get out of here while you still can.” Tommy cursed. Heroes? You’ve got to be kidding me. “You came here for your wings, right?” Bad asked and Tommy nodded and watched as Bad disappeared into the shadows, he reappeared minutes later with chalk in his hands. He began drawing a circle in the middle of the room, “What are you–”
“Ranboo could you light those lanterns for me?” Bad requested. Ranboo nodded and did as he was told. As Bad finished the circle it glowed and the mark on Tommy’s back glowed with it. Bad pulled Tommy into the middle of the circle and ushered him to sit down. As Bad sat behind him he asked, “Ready?” Tommy nodded and Bad took a deep breath before pressing his hands against Tommy’s back. Warmth spread across Tommy’s back as Bad began whispering a spell under his breath. However, that warmth quickly turned into pain as Tommy’s back began burning. He gritted his teeth as Bad continued with the spell, he started to see stars as it felt like all the skin on his back was being seared off.
The circle began to glow, and a searing pain spread throughout Tommy’s body. He screamed, it felt like his body was being burnt from the inside out. He could feel his flesh ripping as his wings protruded from his back. Blood was splattered against the walls and dripped down his back as golden feathers glittered in the dim lights.
He had his wings back.
“Fuck,” Tommy cursed as the pain subsided, “You okay?” Ranboo asked as he helped Tommy to his feet. “Yeah, I just–” Tommy stumbled as his vision swam, “Woah,” Ranboo caught him, “Are you sure you’re okay?” They asked. Tommy roughly shook his brother off, “I’m fine,” he said ignoring the look of hurt that flashed on his brother’s face. “If you don’t want to be caught by the heroes you have to leave now. If you’re okay that is,” Bad said, and Tommy nodded. “I have a way out, follow me.” Ranboo and Tommy followed him to the back of the room. “Take that ladder up and it’ll lead you back to the surface.” Ranboo nodded and started climbing up, but before Tommy could follow Bad stopped him. “Tommy, I hope you know that I truly am sorry.” Tommy looked at him for a moment before climbing up the ladder.
Ranboo pulled Tommy up as he struggled to get out of the hole. His coms reconnected and Tubbo’s voice pierced his ears, “Tommy!? Ranboo!?” He yelled; Tommy winced at the volume. “Yup, we’re here big man.” He said, “Oh, thank Prime! I thought you guys were dead!” Tubbo sighed, “Nope, would take a lot more than a couple of villains to take us down.”
“Ok, I have so many questions like, WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD WINGS!?” Tubbo shrieked. Tommy winced, “I didn’t think it was that important–”
“YOU DIDN’T THINK–” Tubbo took a deep breath, “We’re gonna have a serious conversation later. Right now, you need to get back to the base, and quickly because Overseer and Phoenix are in the area.” He spoke. “Ok, so…” Tommy looked around not recognizing the alley they were in. “Where are we?” He asked, “You’re in District 9.” Shit, they were far. “Lunar, you think you could teleport us?” Ranboo nodded. Grabbing onto him, Ranboo took a deep breath, and purple particles began swirling around them. As Tommy’s vision started to warp, someone else came into view. “Shit, Lunar!–”
Zwoop.
Tommy tumbled across the rooftop as he was hit with a blast of fire. He groaned as Phoenix came into view, “I found them, sending you my location right now.” The hero spoke into his earpiece. “What the fuck man,”
“Supernova, Lunar Eclipse, we have reason to believe that you two have been behind the recent murders,” Phoenix stated, “Wha–Murder!? We haven't murdered anyone!?” Not that he knew of anyway. “You can either come willingly or I’ll have to bring you by force.” A dagger whizzed by, just barely missing the hero's face, and hit the wall behind him. “Guess I’ll have to bring you by force.” Tommy ducked out of the way, feeling the heat on his back as the hero sent fire his way.
“Dude! C’mon, we didn’t kill anyone! That's not what we do.” Tommy tried to explain but the hero didn’t seem to be listening. He sent more fire his way and Tommy barely had time to dodge before another blast was sent his way. He was having a hard time moving around with his wings, he had forgotten how heavy they were.“Uh, guys, I hate to inform you, but more heroes are coming your way,” Tubbo said, typing away at his computer. More heroes!? Shit. “How many?” Tommy asked, rolling out of fire range. “Overseer is like a block away and…” The computer keys clacking could be heard as Tubbo spoke, “Psyche and Niahchu are close by too.” Tommy cursed. Overseer, Psyche, and Niahchu!? They needed to get out of here quickly because if they didn’t it was game over.
Tommy looked over to where Ranboo was fighting Phoenix, he was distracted so that gave Tommy time. He thought for a moment if more heroes were on the way, then they needed a quick getaway. Tommy outstretched his wings; Let’s hope I didn’t forget how to fly. Tommy flapped his wings, lifting himself off the ground. Before he could fly off though, a trident was thrown his way, “Not so fast,” Overseer said. The trident had just barely missed Tommy’s wing. Shit. Tommy thought as he watched the weapon return to the hero's hand almost immediately. “C’mon man, don’t you guys have hero work to do?” The hero didn’t answer and instead, he launched himself at Tommy. Tommy’s eyes widened as he watched to hero come flying at him. Overseer threw his trident and Tommy dodged only to be grabbed by the hero.
Both of them took a hard landing and Tommy quickly moved out of the way as a fist came barreling down at him, leaving a crack in the concrete. Rolling onto his feet Tommy’s eyes widened as he watched the ground melt, that punch could’ve killed me. “What the hell man! You tryna kill me!?” Tommy exclaimed. Overseer said nothing as he summoned his trident once more. He glared at Tommy, smoke coming out of the gas mask on his face and that’s when it dawned on Tommy. Overseer was the warden of the prison.
He was the one the commission would send out to catch the villains that were too dangerous and couldn’t be caught easily. But they weren’t villains. So, why was he going after them?
Tommy had no time to think more about that question as Overseer lunged at him once more. Tommy swiftly moved out of the way, using his wings to propel himself off of the ground. I need to get to Ranboo. Tommy looked around, spotting a ring of fire three rooftops over. That must be where he is. Tommy guessed that the hero could tell what he was thinking as they both looked at each other before Tommy made a run for the edge of the roof.
Overseer hurtled toward him, and Tommy covered himself with his wings as the hero sent another bone-crushing punch his way. Tommy uncurled his wings, sending a rush of wind that caused the hero to go sliding backward. Tommy flapped his wings once more as he jumped off the roof, dodging Overseer’s trident. Flying in the air Tommy could tell the hero was right behind him, jumping from building to building. I need to get him off my tail. Tommy weaved through buildings, dodging Overseer’s trident while also trying to lose him. “Nuke, I need your help.” Tommy said, “I got you bossman,” He could hear typing before Tubbo spoke again, “Take Union Street and go through the alleys, I’ll help you navigate.” Tommy nodded and headed toward Union Street.
He flew into the alley and the hero followed, “Okay, I want you to turn right and keep going straight after that I want you to make a sharp left turn when I say so, okay?” Tommy grunted and did as Tubbo instructed. He turned right and dodged as Overseer threw his trident once more. Tommy continued to fly and as the alley got narrower, he got more worried, “Nuke,”
“Not yet,”
Tommy’s feathers began scraping the walls.
“Nuke,”
“Not yet,”
There was a wall up ahead.
“NUKE,”
“NOW!”
Tommy made a sharp left and flew up out of the alley. Looking down, he saw that Overseer had crashed into the brick wall and seemed out for the count. He breathed a sigh of relief and swiftly flew away, not noticing the lava beginning to pour out of the wall.
Flying back to the fight Tommy could see Ranboo and Phoenix trading blows in the middle of a fire circle. I need to get down there. Tommy flew closer to the fire, flapping his wings to try and put it out. Phoenix looked up and cursed, it seemed like Tommy distracted him enough for Ranboo to blast Phoenix, sending the hero flying into a wall. “So, you’re using your powers freely now huh?” Tommy said as he landed. “Are you okay?” Ranboo signed, “I’m fine, now let’s get outta here yeah?” Ranboo nodded and as they teleported a trident whizzed by them.
Overseer snarled as the two teleported away, the ground sizzled as lava poured around him and his trident returned to his hands. He wouldn’t let them get away next time.
.......
Tommy cried out in pain as they got to the base. Overseer had thrown his trident before they left and looking down, it had cut pretty deep. “Fuck,” Tommy cursed, “Shit, are you okay?” Ranboo said, “I’m fine, I just–” Tommy winced as Ranboo examined the cut, “You’re gonna need stitches,” He said, “Shit, are you guys okay!?” Tubbo asked, running to them “I need the first aid kit,” Ranboo said, helping Tommy sit. “What are you doing?” Tommy asked, “I’m gonna stitch you up,” Ranboo replied as Tubbo came back with the kit. “No, it’s fine. I can do it myself.” Tommy said quickly, “Are you sure? Because I know you don’t like the sight of blood–”
“It’s fine, I can do it. It–It’s fine.” Tubbo looked between the two as Ranboo frowned in disappointment, “Ok, well just let me know if you need help.” Tommy sighed as Ranboo walked away, “Dude,” Tubbo said, “What?” Tommy replied, grabbing the needle and thread. “What’s going on between you and Ran?” Tubbo asked, “Nothing, it’s nothing.” Tommy winced as he stuck the needle into his skin, “Dude, I can practically feel the tension between you two.” The brunette said, “Don’t tell me you guys are still arguing over what happened.”
Tommy sucked in a breath as he stuck the needle into his skin once more, he felt like passing out. “It’s nothing Tubbo, I swear. Now could you help me out, I feel like I’m gonna puke my guts out right now.” The shorter snorted and took the needle out of his hands, “Dude your suit is fucking ruined.” Tubbo complained, “Yeah, that’s what happens when you go up against two of the top ten heroes Tubs.” Tommy retorted, “Yeah that and the fucking gigantic wings sprouting out of your back.” Tubbo added, “I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me you had wings. I mean, I could’ve made modifications to your suit….”
Ranboo watched Tubbo lay into Tommy for not telling him he had wings as he stitched up his wound. He watched as Tommy let Tubbo clean his cuts and thought to himself, why didn’t he want my help? “Hey,” Clementine said, “Let’s get you cleaned up yeah?”
Ranboo sat on the couch as Clementine began tending to the small cuts and burns on his face. “So, Tommy told me you’re staying with Techno for a while?” Clementine said, “He hates me doesn’t he.” Ranboo sighed, “He doesn’t hate you; he’s just having a hard time understanding.” His sister said, “And to be honest, I am too.” She said, “I just…” Ranboo sighed, “I’m losing control of my powers and I’m afraid of hurting you guys.” He confessed, “We both know you wouldn’t hurt us on purpose.” Clem said, referring to her and Tommy. “Tommy’s afraid of me.” He’s afraid of Havoc. “There’s fear in his eyes when I use them, there was disgust in his voice when he spoke to me earlier. He hates me, Clem.”
“He thinks I’m a monster.” Ranboo’s voice broke as he voiced his thoughts. “Stardust, look at me,” Clementine said, cupping Ranboo’s cheeks, “You are not a monster. You are one of the sweetest people I know.” His sister said, “And Tommy isn’t afraid of you, he’s just…” Afraid of your power. “Worried, he’s seen how much your powers affect you. He’s afraid for you.” Tommy was afraid for him? Why? It wasn’t like his powers were taking a toll on his health. H̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶h̶y̶s̶i̶c̶a̶l̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶l̶t̶h̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶.̶ “I just…I don’t want to leave him feeling like I abandoned him.” Ranboo said, “You do everything for your brother, you’ve been taking care of him by yourself for so long, which is my fault for not being there for you both.” Clem said, “It’s not your fault, you couldn’t have known where we were. I hid our identities pretty well.” Ranboo replied, “My point is, you’ve been so focused on taking care of Tommy that you haven’t been taking care of yourself.”
“What are you talking about? I’m fine.” Clementine looked at him with sadness in her eyes, “You’re tired Stardust, I can see it in your eyes. It’s okay to be tired.” Ranboo’s eyes watered but he blinked the tears away, he refused to cry. He’d done enough of that this past week. “I’m fine,” He mumbled, looking away from his sister. “I want you to take care of yourself Ranboo, don’t worry about Tommy, I’ll take care of him. Just focus on yourself right now, okay?” Clementine said, “But, what if–” Ranboo didn’t even have to finish his sentence for Clementine to know what he was thinking. “He won’t, not while I’m still here. I promise, okay?” She said, “Okay,” Ranboo whispered, he sighed as he looked back at his brother. They made eye contact and stared at each other for a while before Tommy broke eye contact as Tubbo said something to him.
Please, don’t l̷e̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷hate me.
Tommy couldn’t sleep. The dull ache on his back seemed to keep him from sleeping peacefully. He sighed as he lay on his side, mind racing. When leaving the base, he didn’t know why but he expected Ranboo to come home with them, like he was gonna change his mind and stay with them. Instead, he said goodbye and Tommy sadly watched him teleport away. He looked…Apologetic as he left. It was like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t, he only looked at Tommy with a look that made him want to scream. He could see how much his brother was struggling with keeping his powers under wraps, he wanted to help but all he did was fuck everything up, and now he was gone. Well, maybe not gone, but he wasn’t home. The room felt empty without him.
Grabbing his phone, he stared at the slightly cracked screen. On his lock screen, there was a picture of him, Ranboo, and Tubbo. They were sitting on a bench in Unity Park eating ice cream. Tommy was laughing while Tubbo had a huge smile on his face and chocolate on his lips and Ranboo was smiling but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Ranboo’s smiles never reached his eyes, Tommy hadn’t seen his brother genuinely smile since their mother died…That revelation made Tommy want to cry. How had he never noticed how much his brother was struggling until now? Maybe it was how well he hid it, between the fake smiles and the fake reassurances, how hadn’t he noticed? How hadn’t he noticed the deep bags underneath his brother’s eyes, how sickly pale he was, or how sad he looked? Tommy silently berated himself, how could be so selfish? Ranboo had taken care of him for months while neglecting his own needs and how did Tommy repay him? By calling him a monster and comparing him to the person Dream wanted him to be. He was a terrible brother. He didn’t deserve the things Ranboo did for him.
Tears welled up in Tommy’s eyes. He thought about calling his brother and apologizing, begging him to forgive Tommy for his selfishness. But he didn’t, instead, he called someone he knew would listen.
“Tommy?” Wilbur rasped, “Hey Wil,” Tommy sniffed, “It’s 3 AM, what are you doing up?” Wil asked, “I couldn’t sleep. Sorry, did I wake you up? I know it’s late.” Tommy asked, “No, no, it’s–” Wilbur yawned, “It’s fine, what’s up?” He said, “I just–I needed someone to talk to.” Tommy said, “Are you okay? Did something happen?” Wil asked and Tommy sighed, “I–How do you help someone you’ve hurt?” He asked, “What do you mean?” Wilbur asked, “I wanted to help. I–I tried to help but all I did was make things worse.” Tommy’s voice wobbled as he spoke, “I always make things worse.” He had always been a troublemaker, getting into fights with the other kids in the village, and disobeying Dream’s orders. His brother would always take the fall for him, taking punishment for him and coming back with more scars than he had before. Ranboo had always protected him, and all Tommy had done was judge him.
“I’m sure whatever you did couldn’t have been that bad.” Wilbur tried, “I called him a monster Wil, he was trying to protect me, and I shouted at him.” Tommy said, “R-Ray's done everything for me and all I’ve done is be selfish.”
“Did you mean it?”
“What?”
“The words you shouted; did you mean them?”
The truth is, Tommy didn’t know. Ranboo wasn’t a monster but, with the things Dream made them do plus them losing control of their powers, Tommy was scared. He was afraid that Ranboo would lose themself and become that monster that they tried so desperately to control. “Sometimes, we say stuff we don’t mean. Trust me, I’ve done so many times before. You just have to apologize, make sure he understands that you didn’t mean it.” Wil stated, “I tried that Wilbur, I tried apologizing, but it didn’t help. He left and I–I don’t know what to do anymore.” Tears began flowing from Tommy’s eyes as he spoke, “What do you mean he left?” Wilbur asked, “He’s staying with Techno, said he needed space.” Tommy continued, “I’m worried about him, Wil. I want to help him, but he keeps pushing me away.” He said, “You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped, Tommy.” Wilbur said, “If he needs space then give it to him, trying to forcefully help him will only push him away further.”
Wilbur was right, Tommy had tried helping but it only made things worse. Ranboo didn’t want help, he didn’t think he needed it. So, Tommy would give him his space, and hopefully, his brother would come to him when he needed him. “Thanks, Wilbur,” Tommy said, “Of course, Toms, was that all you needed?” Wil asked, “Well–Never mind, it’s stupid.” Tommy said, “No, no, what is it?” Tommy sighed, “My mom…She used to sing us a lullaby before bed, and I was wondering–”
“If I could sing you one?”
“If that’s not too much to ask.”
“Not at all, my mother used to do the same thing. I’ll sing you the song she sang me and Techno whenever he had a bad dream.” Wilbur cleared his throat and began singing softly, “Days seem sometimes as if they’ll never end.” Wilbur’s voice was soft but raspy, “Sun digs its heels to taunt you.” His voice soothing Tommy’s thoughts, “But after sunlight days, one thing stays the same. Rises the moon,”
“Days fade into a watercolor blur, memories swim and haunt you. But look into the lake, shimmering like smoke, rises the moon.” Wilbur’s voice was clear, even through the phone his honeyed tone made Tommy feel warm inside. “Oh–oh close your weary eyes.” Tommy yawned, “I promise you that soon the autumn comes to darken, fading summer skies.” His eyes drooped, “Breathe, breathe, breathe.” Tommy smiled and allowed himself to fall into the warm embrace of sleep, that night, he dreamt of laughter and sunflower fields.
Wilbur smiled as soft breathing came from the other end of the line, “Goodnight, Tommy.” He said, hanging up the phone. He sighed as he rolled onto his side. There was no way he would be going back to sleep now, not after that phone call. To say he was worried was an understatement. He could tell there was something deeper to the situation than what Tommy was telling him. What was Ranboo trying to protect him from? He knows that as an older brother, it’s Ranboo’s job to protect Tommy, hell, Wilbur knows that better than anyone. But, with Phil and Techno’s theory, Ranboo might be protecting Tommy from something bigger than regular life problems.
Wilbur’s phone buzzed and for a second, he thought that Tommy had woken up and called him again until he looked at the caller ID, “Sam? What’s up?”
“Emergency meeting, I need you to inform Phil and your brother and meet me downstairs ASAP,” Sam announced, “What? What’s going on?” Wilbur asked, “I’ll explain everything later, just get here as soon as you can.” Sam abruptly hung up the call and Wilbur groaned, why couldn’t he have just been a musician? Maybe then things wouldn’t be so difficult.
.......
“You better have a good reason for calling us here. I was havin’ a good dream.” Techno grumbled, “Oh trust me, you’ll want to hear this.” Sapnap said as Sam entered the meeting room, “Sam, what’s this about?” Phil questioned, “We have new information on Supernova,” Sam stated, “While on patrol, Sapnap and I got word that the “Superstars” had been spotted at Las Nevadas.” Sam continued, “Upon finding them, we found that Supernova had sprouted a pair of golden wings.” The room erupted with noises of surprise and confusion, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me! Wings!?” Fundy shouted, “He’s an avian?” Niki questioned, “Looks like it,” Sapnap said, “But, I thought Phil and Rae were the only ones left in the city.” Said Hannah, “I guess not,” Wilbur looked over at his father, it looked like his mind was someplace else. Unregistered powers were one thing, but an unregistered Avian? That was a whole different issue.
“How will we catch them now? I mean, with Lunar Eclipse's teleportation and Supernova’s new wings, it’ll be impossible to stop them.” George had a point, with their powers, Supernova and Lunar Eclipse could get away at any moment and they wouldn’t be able to stop them. “That's where my new toy comes in,” Sam said with a smile, he pulled up blueprints of power dampeners, “These dampeners are designed specifically for Supernova and Lunar Eclipse’s power set.” He explained, “Taking into account that we don’t know how many abilities Lunar Eclipse is hiding, I assumed that he is stronger than his partner in crime so, I tripled the dose of tranquilizer for Lunar Eclipse’s handcuffs. ”
“All we need to do is handcuff him and bind Supernova’s wings. That way, they’ll have no way of escaping.” Phil feathers ruffled at the mention of binding Supernova’s wings, “So, how do you propose we do this, Sam?” Phil asked and a wicked smile appeared on Sam’s face. “We ambush them.” Wilbur looked over at his brother as Sam explained his plan, though his face was blank Wilbur could see a hint of worry on his face. “What’s wrong Tech?” He asked, “I just–I’m worried.” His brother said, “Don’t worry,” Wilbur patted his shoulder, “We’ll catch them.”
That’s not what Techno was worried about.
Tommy marveled at the house in front of him. He knew that the mayor’s house would be big but, wow was this bigger than any house Tommy had ever seen. The house was white was multiple big windows and a huge wrap-around porch, it had a ginormous lawn and Tommy could only imagine what the backyard looked like. They stood outside the iron gate, waiting for someone to let them in. “State your name and reason for being here.” A voice said through the intercom. Tommy and Ranboo looked at each other before Ranboo spoke up, “Ray and Thomas Smith, we’re here to see Tubbo.” There was no response and for a moment, they thought they were gonna be denied access but then the gate opened. “Your entry is permitted.” Both boys glanced at each other before stepping foot on the property.
The lawn was covered in perfectly green grass, it almost looked fake. Walking up the path, he looked at all the bush sculptures and flowers planted along it. Everything looked so…Perfect, it was unnerving. Finally arriving at the actual estate, the boys were greeted by one of the mayor’s butlers, “Right this way,” He said, leading the boys into the mansion. Tommy gasped at the inside. “Tobias will be with you shortly.” The butler said, leaving the boys to look on in awe. The floors were clean marble, shiny enough that Tommy could see his reflection and the walls were a greyish-blue color. The walls were covered in extravagant paintings and a grand staircase. At the top, Tommy could see a painting of the mayor himself. J. Schlatt, former number 3 hero, Judge. The two boys shivered under the gaze of the painting; it seemed like it was watching them. The mayor’s eyes were dark, making it look as though his eyes were all black.
“Tommy! Ranboo! Glad you guys could make it!” Tubbo said as he descended the staircase, dressed in a school uniform. “Tubs, your house is fuckin’ huge!” Tommy exclaimed, “Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet! C’mon, I have something to show you guys.” Tubbo said, running back up the stairs. The boys followed Tubbo as he showed them countless rooms, “This is the game room,” Tubbo said, gesturing to a room on their right. “That's the home theater,” Tubbo continued, “That’s a spare bedroom, though it’s never been used since we don’t get many guests.” The boys looked on in wonder as Tubbo continued the tour. They passed by a closed door and Tommy stopped to inspect it, “What’s in here?” He asked, “Oh, that’s my dad’s office, no one’s allowed in there except for him.” Tubbo explained, Tommy hummed, and they continued down the hall.
“This, boys, is my room.” Tubbo threw the door open, and both boys gasped. The room was huge with sage green walls, first-place awards, and certificates adorned the shelves. There was a huge king-sized bed pushed into the corner of the room and a walk-in closet next to it. On the other side of the room was a desk with a three-screened PC, there were books and papers of seemingly unfinished homework lying around. “Damn Tubs,” Tommy said, plopping down at the desk chair, “You’re friends must come over here every day, I know I would.” He said, looking around the room some more. “You guys are actually the only people I’ve ever invited over.” Tubbo said, “Really?” Tubbo nodded, “I don’t have many friends, in fact, you guys are the first friends I’ve ever had.” Tubbo mumbled, “Oh,” Tommy said, “But that’s not what I brought you guys here for. I have something to show you.” Tubbo said, brushing the conversation off. “Just let me change really quick and then I can show you guys what I’ve been working on.” He said, walking into his closet. Tommy's eyes widened as the doors opened and it looked like a whole different room. “Damn, if only we were this rich.” Ranboo hummed in agreement, sitting down in the beanbag chair next to the desk.
Tommy looked around the room as he spun in the chair, looking at all the awards and pictures hung on Tubbo’s walls. He wondered, is this what his life would’ve looked like if those bandits hadn’t burned down their village? Would he have been in spelling bees and the science fair? Would he have been happy?
The door suddenly opened, startling both him and Ranboo, “Toby? What did I tell you about disturbing me while I’m working–” Tommy and Ranboo stared with wide eyes as the mayor stared down at them. He was tall and muscular, his horns curled around his ears with a sharp point at the end and he stared at them with vicious eyes. Just then Tubbo reappeared in brand new clothes, “Dad?” He said, “These your friends?” The mayor asked, “Uh, yeah. That’s Tommy and Ran–” Ranboo cleared his throat, “Ray, that’s Ray.” Schlatt eyed the boys, taking note of their appearances. “Dad–”
“Just keep the noise down, kay?” Tubbo nodded as Schaltt turned to leave, he looked back at them. “It was nice meeting you boys.” Tuboo breathed a sigh of relief as his dad left the room. “Sorry about that,” He said, “Dude, your dad’s scary.”
“He’s not always like that, I promise,” Tubbo said, “Let’s go before he comes back.” Tommy and Ranboo nodded and followed Tubbo outside. The backyard was huge just like Tommy predicted. They walked down a path that was lined with flowers and beautiful trees until they reached one big oak tree. “Okay, I need you guys to not freak out.” Tubbo said, “Why would we freak out–” Ranboo was cut off as Tubbo hit a button and the ground beneath them opened up. “This boys, is my lab,” Tommy screamed in amazement as he looked at the countless machines and experiments that filled the place. “What the fuck!?” Tubbo laughed as Tommy ran to inspect all of his things, “Tubbo, this…This is amazing!” Ranboo said as he looked around, “Thank you,”
“Did you do all of this by yourself?” Ranboo asked and Tubbo nodded, “All by hand. It was pretty easy, all I had to do was…” As Tubbo babbled on about how he built his underground lab without his father’s knowledge, Tommy traveled deeper into the lab. “Hey, what’s this?” Tommy asked, looking at two large tubes with a sheet over them. “Oh!” Tubbo’s eyes lit up, “That’s what I wanted to show you!” He walked over, “Prepared to be amazed,” Tubbo said as he pulled the sheet off to reveal brand-new suits. “Your new and improved suits!” The boys stared at the new suit in astonishment, “New suits? How? Ours were just destroyed, there’s no way you made these in one night.”
“The suits you had before were just prototypes,” Tubbo said, “These are your actual suits.” They were both black, Tommy’s had lines of red running down the legs and arms and an outline of a star while Ranboo’s had purple lines and an outline of a crescent moon. “They’re fireproof and waterproof, I also made adjustments for Tommy’s wings.” Tommy's eyes sparkled as he looked at his suit, “New suits, Tommy you know what that means?”
“Time for the Superstars to shine.”
As the boys marveled at their new suits, J. Schlatt was back in his office making a phone call. “Hey, I think I found your kids.”
......
Later that night, Tommy sat on the rooftop of an apartment building. The sun had gone down not too long ago but despite that, the streets were empty. “Nuke, do you see anything on the radar?” Tubbo sighed, “Nope, nothing.” He said, “Maybe all the criminals decided to stay inside tonight.” Tommy huffed, “I was really hoping to try out my new suit though,” He groaned, “Why do all the criminals decide to stay in when I actually want to fight.” Tubbo chuckled as Tommy flopped onto his back. “Maybe someone will try and rob a store or something, maybe then you’ll get to test out your new suit,” Tubbo said, and Tommy sighed as Ranboo laid down next to him. “Lunar did you see anything?” Tommy asked, “Nope, but maybe that’s a good thing.” Tommy sat up and looked at his brother in confusion, “What do you mean?”
“I mean it’s good that there’s no crime because it gives us time to talk,” Ranboo said, “Tommy, I’m sorry.” He apologized, “Boo, I don’t think this is a good time.” Tommy said, “There’s never gonna be a good time, Tommy. I just needed to apologize.” His brother said, “Why are you apologizing? I should be the one who’s sorry.” Tommy spoke, “I’m the reason your powers are going out of control.” He said, “What? Tommy no you’re not.” Ranboo said, “None of this is your fault.” He stated. Tommy went to say something else, but Ranboo interrupted him by pushing him out of the way of an incoming attack.
Ranboo rolled to his feet as Overseer’s trident returned to his hand, “Lunar Eclipse and Supernova, I was hoping we’d meet again soon.” The hero spoke, “Overseer, don’t tell me you’re here to arrest us.” Tommy said, “Precisely,” Tommy growled as he flapped his wings and Ranboo unsheathed his knives. That’s why there were no criminals out tonight, Overseer was in their district.
“Uh, guys?” Tubbo said, clicking away at his computer. “What’s going on Nuke?” Tubbo's voice came frantic through the coms, “There are multiple heroes surrounding you!” He exclaimed. Multiple!? Shit. He glanced around and sure enough, Saber jumped onto the rooftop, concrete cracking under his feet, Phoenix, flames blazing appeared at Overseer’s side and Specter came up from the ground. “C’mon guys, you don’t really think we’d kill innocent people, right?” Tommy questioned, “If you just come with us, we’ll find out.” Specter responded, “Dude, I thought you wanted to recruit us.”
“That was before you began killing innocent people!” Tommy groaned, “For the last time, we haven’t killed anyone!” Tommy said as he blasted the hero. Specter turned invisible, and Tommy’s attack went straight through him. “Keep them separated! They can’t escape without each other!” Overseer shouted and the heroes split into pairs. Overseer and Saber went after Ranboo while Phoenix and Specter went after Tommy.
Tommy shielded himself with his wings as Phoenix attacked him. He dodged a kick from Specter and sent a blast his way that fazed right through the hero. He extended his staff and hit Phoenix in the stomach and over the head. He then kicked the hero who slid against the concrete, “I still don’t get why you guys think we’re the ones killing people. I mean, we come out here to stop crime every night. Why would we kill people? That makes no sense.” Tommy said, “You two are the only ones with the power to burn people to ashes other than me and Overseer.” Phoenix said as he lunged at Tommy, he pinned Tommy to the ground and punched him. Tommy grunted and kicked the hero off of him, “How do you know that there aren’t any people out there with unregistered powers?” Tommy said, sweeping his leg under Phoenix’s feet. “You’re the only ones we know have unregistered powers,” Specter said, kicking Tommy in the back. “So, you’re our priority.” Specter reappeared in front of him and gave him a quick punch to the face before disappearing again.
Tommy stumbled as Phoenix hit him with a fiery kick to the stomach. He groaned as he fell to his knees. “Just come with us. There’s no use in resisting,” Phoenix stood in front of him, and Specter appeared beside him. Tommy looked over to Ranboo, he was fighting Overseer and Saber at the same time. Hitting them with whips of magic. Tommy coughed and a bit of blood came out. He wiped it away, “Not a chance,” He hit the ground with a shock wave, knocking both heroes off balance. He took off into the sky and Phoenix yelled, “He’s getting away!”
“I got him.”
“Tommy, we’ve got another problem,” Tubbo said, “What is it now?” Tommy asked and a shadow appeared over him. “Corvus is after you.”
“Hey mate,” The number one hero, Corvus, was flying above him. Midnight black wings on full display. Tommy cursed as Corvus pounced on him, his talons digging into his shoulders. Tommy grunted as they crashed onto the concrete, “Hope you didn’t think we’d let you get away again.” He taunted, Tommy growled and kicked the man off of him. The hero flapped his wings, catching himself. Tommy breathed harshly as the hero spoke, “Y’know, I really hoped you two would become heroes one day. After all, you have saved countless lives, but I guess not.” He said, “We are heroes.” Tommy said, sending a shock wave of energy towards the hero who dodged quickly. “Killing people makes you a hero?” He asked, trying to slice Tommy with his sharp feathers. Tommy dodged and used his wings to propel himself of out harm's way. “I’m tired of you heroes accusing us of something we haven’t done.” He said, taking a swipe at the hero with his baton. “Don’t you have better things to do? Like protecting the city for example.” He questioned, dodging another attack. He kicked the hero in the stomach and shielded himself from Corvus’s punch. “We are protecting the city.” He stated, “We’re protecting it from you.”
The hero uppercut him and kicked him, causing Tommy to go flying across the street. He caught himself with his wings and flew back into the sky. “Nuke, I need some help here!” Tommy exclaimed, “I’m working on it!” Glancing behind him, he saw the Corvus was on his tail. There was no way he would be able to lose him easily. Tommy continued to fly, he pushed himself to go faster, trying to get away from the winged hero. “There’s no use in running Supernova!” The hero voiced, “You won’t be able to escape me!” He was right. Tommy wouldn’t be able to escape him, he was too fast. But that didn’t mean Tommy wouldn’t try. Tommy turned and sent a blast of energy toward the hero, “Fuck off!” He yelled, the hero dodged and flapped his wings harder in an attempt to catch up to Tommy. Tommy sent another blast of energy, and it was returned by a sharp feather scraping Tommy’s cheek, Tommy winced as blood dripped from his face. He turned around and pushed his wings to go faster. “Tommy, you need to get back to Ranboo,” Tubbo said, “Uh, I’m kind of occupied!” Tommy yelled, “He needs help!” Tommy huffed and dipped, changing his course. Corvus dipped with him, following his every move.
Tommy cursed as he saw Ranboo fighting with all four heroes. Striking them with magic and dodging attacks, he hit the ground, sending a shockwave through the floor and knocking Saber off his feet. As Tommy looked on, he hadn’t noticed he’d slowed down enough for Corvus to catch up with him.
Hitting the ground, Tommy cried out in pain as a crack sounded through his ears. He tried getting up, but Corvus dug his talons deeper into his shoulders, pinning him to the ground. “It’s over Supernova, give up.” Tommy looked over to see Ranboo being kicked to the ground by Overseer and cuffed by Specter. No. This couldn’t be how they were caught. Tommy tried wiggling out of Corvus’s grip, but it only tightened, “You two are gonna spend the rest of your days in Pandora’s Vault, atoning for your sins.” This is it. Tommy thought. This is how the legacy of Supernova ends.
Tommy thought it was over, that was until a sharp wave of water cut Corvus’s face, “Let him go,” Clementine spoke, “Who–” Before the hero could finish his sentence he was washed away by a wave of water. A blast of fire came her way, and she blocked it with a wave. She sharpened the water, turning it into blades that she threw at Phoenix who dodged. She lunged at the hero, swiping her leg under the hero's feet and knocking him out of the way. She turned her attention to Specter who fazed right through her attacks and turned invisible. Clementine threw a smoke bomb and used it to see where the hero was while he was blinded. Once she found him, she struck him with her water blades and swiftly kicked him. Saber stood and watched all of this unfold and as the smoke cleared Clementine prepared to fight but the hero raised his hands, “I don’t want to fight.” He said, “Go before the others wake up.” Clementine hesitated for a moment before helping Tommy to his feet and grabbing a knocked-out Ranboo. Saber watched as the three disappeared into thin air and sighed.
He prayed it wasn’t true.
The ground beneath him froze as he walked, and his breath turned to ice as he sighed. It’s too hot out here. He thought as he entered the alleyway. There were scorch marks on the ground and a masked man stood over a burnt body, “Punz, how nice of you to join us! We were just finishing up.” He said, turning around to face Punz. A little girl stood behind him like a shadow, eyes glowing green. “Do you have any information for me?” He asked, tilting his head. “Tommy’s got his wings back.” The man growled, “Bad, that traitor!” He exclaimed punching the wall, the brick crumbling. “Guess we’ll have to move quicker than I thought.” He hummed, “Y’know, I got a call from Schaltt earlier. Seems like he’s gotten closer to finishing the job than you have, Punz. Need I remind you what’s at stake here?” He said, stepping closer to Punz. “Please, I just need more time–” Punz’s pleading stopped as the man grabbed his neck and squeezed, “We don’t have time Punz, you either find them or your brother dies.” He gritted, “Dream, please, I’ll find them. I promise.” Punz choked out. He struggled as Dream’s grip around his neck tightened before he let go. Punz fell to the ground as he gasped for air. “You have three months to find them, until then, your brother will remain unharmed. I’ll also be sending out additional help. As it's become clear you need it.” Dream declared, “Thank you, thank you I promise I won’t let you down.” Punz vowed, “You better not, now get out of my sight before I change my mind.” Punz scurried out of the alley. He would do whatever it took to catch those kids.
Notes:
Heroes:
Overseer-Sam: Magma manipulation
Saber-Techno: Super strength
Specter-Wilbur: Intangibility
Corvus-Phil: Flight & razor-sharp feathers
Phoenix-Sapnap: PyrokinesisVigilantes:
Lunar Eclipse-Ranboo: Teleportation & ???
Supernova-Tommy: energy manipulation and flight
Nuke-Tubbo: Super intelligence
Actual notes
⇩
God, this took so fucking long to write. A lot went on in this chapter, so many emotions. How did you guys like it? If you notice, Clementine calls Tommy Little Star and Ranboo Stardust. I thought it was cute for Tommy to be the star and Ranboo the stardust. I also added a few things, Ranboo's fake name is Ray, I thought that since their supposed to be on the run it would make sense for him to change his name. The only people that call him Ranboo are Tommy, Tubbo and Clem. I hope you all like this chapter as I worked really hard on it. Feel free to comment any thoughts or questions you have; it lets me know you all enjoy the story and motivates me to keep posting. As always, I love you all. Until next time friends!
Chapter 12: Afraid
Summary:
Ranboo awoke in a cold sweat. He could still hear the echo of Dream’s maniacal laugh. He touched the side of his neck, feeling the scarred skin.
A smiley face.
A smiley face was imprinted on his skin. It was an indicator. A reminder that they were forever his property.
Ranboo hated it.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ranboo was cold. His head pounded as his ears rang. He groaned as he opened his eyes, his vision blurred. Clementine appeared in his line of sight and said something Ranboo didn’t understand. “What?” Ranboo slurred, Clementine cupped his face and he leaned into her touch, she said something before leaving and Ranboo mourned the loss of warmth. He felt weak, and his mind felt fuzzy. He shivered, he was so cold and tired. Ranboo’s eyes drooped as his vision became spotty. As his vision began to darken, he saw a little girl watching him with a white mask similar to Dream’s but a sad face instead. The girl reached out to him and as Ranboo allowed the darkness to consume him she whispered,
"𝐈'𝐦 𝐬o𝐫r𝐲."
.......
The rattle of chains.
A cold metal wrapped around their neck.
The strong smell of bleach burned their nostrils.
They pulled at their restraints.
Screaming. Pleading to be let go.
“This’ll only take a second, I promise.”
A blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the facility as a metal rod was pressed into their skin.
Their flesh burned and as they squirmed a hand cupped their cheek.
“You are mine now.”
-----------------------
Ranboo awoke in a cold sweat. He could still hear the echo of Dream’s maniacal laugh. He touched the side of his neck, feeling the scarred skin.
A smiley face.
A smiley face was imprinted on his skin. It was an indicator. A reminder that they were forever his property.
Ranboo hated it.
He hated how the mark taunted him, it whispered to him, “You belong to me.”
“Ranboo?” Tubbo stood in front of the couch, his hair disheveled. “Tubbo? What–” His voice was raspy, he hummed in confusion as he rubbed his sore throat. “You were screaming,” Tubbo said softly, “We tried waking you but–You–you just kept screaming at us to stop.” That’s when Ranboo noticed the scratches on Tubbo’s face, there were three of them going across his cheek. “What happened?” He said, jumping off the couch to examine Tubbo’s face. “I’m fine, Ranboo.”
“Tubbo, it’s gonna scar.”
“Boo–”
“Did–Did I do that?” Tubbo didn’t answer, he didn’t even look him in the eye. “Tubbo–”
“It’s fine, Boo,” Tubbo said, gently taking Ranboo’s hands and removing them from his face. “I’m fine.” Ranboo looked down at Tubbo, examining the deep cuts on his cheek. “I should be worrying about you! I mean, you fought Overseer and Saber alone. Not many people come out of that unscathed.” Tubbo said, “Then, there’s this…” He picked up Ranboo’s wrist and his eyes widened as he realized what that cold feeling was on their wrist. A power dampener. This one was different though, it was thin, more like a bracelet than a cuff and it was black instead of silver with small purple gemstones going around it. “If I can’t use my powers then…Who–”
“I did,” Clementine said, walking into the room. “But, how?” Ranboo asked, “I had Tubbo make me a suit and set up a stasis chamber just in case I ever had to step in and look! It came in handy, didn’t it?” She said smiling at Tubbo, giving him an I told you so look. Tubbo just huffed and rolled his eyes. “How’s Tommy?” Tubbo asked and Ranboo’s eyes widened, “Tommy! Where’s–”
“He’s fine, he might have a few scars and a broken rib–”
“A broken rib!?”
“But he’s alive,” Clementine assured, “Where is he?” Ranboo asked, “He’s in the back but–” Ranboo didn’t let her finish as he pushed past her into the back room. Walking past the curtain he saw Tommy passed out on a cot. Half of his torso was wrapped in bandages and his face was bruised. He looked pained, even as he rested, and Ranboo so desperately wanted to relieve him of that pain, but he couldn’t, not without his powers. “How long will it take for you to figure out how to take this cuff off.” He asked, turning to face Tubbo. “Well, I’m not exactly sure. This is a whole new model so it could take weeks, maybe even months.” Tubbo explained, “We don’t have months Tubbo, you saw how aggressive the heroes were! I need my powers back now.” Ranboo exclaimed. “I know, I know, and I’ll do my best to get that cuff off as soon as possible but it’ll take some time.” Ranboo sighed and rubbed a hand across his face, “Look, it’s been a long night and I think that we're all a bit stressed.” Clem said, “Tubbo why don’t you go home and get some rest. You’re not any help if you’re sleep-deprived.” She continued, “You to Ranboo, I’m sure Techno would be worried if he didn’t find you in bed at this hour.”
“But what about–” Clementine cut him off, “No buts,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “He’ll be fine, I promise.” Ranboo took one last glance at his brother, watching the rise and fall of his chest before sighing and reluctantly leaving the base.
.......
Ranboo hated riding the train at night.
It was about 4 in the morning and of course, nobody else was on the train. Why would they be? It’s the middle of the night for Prime’s sake. And that’s what made Ranboo afraid. No one else was here so there would be no one else to hear him scream.
He needed to stop thinking about that before he went insane. He took a deep breath.
Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.
Ranboo took another deep breath as the automated voice spoke over the intercom.
“We are now arriving at, Unity Station.”
As the doors opened, a hooded figure stepped onto the train and Ranboo immediately had a bad feeling.
The man sat three seats across from him and as they made eye contact a chill ran down his spine.
Something was wrong.
His eyes were icy blue and as Ranboo quickly looked away the man pulled his hood closer to his face. Ranboo pulled his coat closer to his body, it was colder than usual on the train. Ranboo took another glance at the man, it was 30 degrees he was only wearing a grey hoodie and sweatpants. Maybe that was all he had. Maybe he was harmless. Maybe Ranboo was just being paranoid but, something felt off.
The train was silent, the only noise being the wheels against the tracks and Ranboo’s pounding heart. There was nobody on the train except for him and the suspicious man, even as the train stopped at different stations, no one ever got on and the man never got off. He could feel the man’s eyes on him as he fidgeted in his seat. This was not good. This was not good at all. Not only were they alone on a train in the middle of the night with a suspicious man but, he also didn’t have powers to defend himself if things became urgent. The automated voice startled Ranboo as it spoke.
“We are now arriving at Serenity Station.”
Ranboo stood as the train came to a stop and so did the man. Ranboo tried not to panic as he stepped off the train and the man followed a few minutes later. The man continued to follow him as they left the train station. Ranboo’s heart pounded in his ears as they walked down the street. Why the fuck was he following him? Or maybe he wasn’t, maybe he was just trying to get home just like Ranboo was. Glancing over his shoulder Ranboo concluded that he, in fact, was following him and was not trying to get home like he was.
Fuck.
Ok, no need to panic. Techno’s place was only a few blocks away, he just had to keep walking and everything would be fine.
He could hear the man’s footsteps echo behind him as he walked down the empty streets. Ranboo hastened his pace a little, trying to gain some distance between them but the man only sped up with him. That’s when Ranboo decided it was time to run.
The man cursed as Ranboo booked it down the block. He had to get away from this guy. He took a few sharp turns in an attempt to lose him, but the guy was always right behind him. He could tell the man was catching up to him and started to panic.
Shitshitshitshitshitshit.
He thought about screaming, calling for anyone’s help but he knew that wouldn’t do anything. They were in Serenity, one of the inner 5 districts. Crime didn't happen in the inner districts, people would only call the police about a disturbance, and by the time they’d get here, Ranboo would be dead. He had to figure something out.
Taking another turn, he found himself in a dead-end alley.
Shit.
He could hear the hooded man approaching and quickly hid behind a dumpster.
He could hear the man mumble a few curses under his breath when he entered the alley and didn’t see Ranboo. He held his breath as he heard the man leave and walk down the block. After what felt like hours, Ranboo poked his head out of his hiding spot and after making sure the man wasn’t hiding in the shadows Ranboo booked it back to Techno’s apartment.
He looked over his shoulder as he reached the apartment, it was bad enough to be powerless, but to have someone following him too? Ranboo sighed as he climbed the fire escape. Couldn’t Techno have chosen an apartment on the ground floor or something? He grunted as he heaved the window to his room open and carefully climbed into the room. He was careful not to make any noise as he changed into some comfier clothes and climbed into bed. The adrenaline wore off and exhaustion took over as he lay down. His heart was still pounding, even as he closed his eyes. He went to sleep afraid that something bad was coming for them.
Early that morning, Techno cracked Ranboo’s door open and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the boy sleeping.
Maybe he was wrong.
----------------------------
Buildings were crumbling.
People were screaming.
Dead bodies littered the streets.
They were knocked to the ground as another building crumbled in front of them.
That's when they noticed that they weren’t in their own body. Two wedding rings hung from their neck.
“No,”
That wasn’t their voice.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
More debris started falling around them.
“You were supposed to stop him.”
As the dust settled, they saw themselves, eyes glowing a deep dark purple, in the middle of it all.
----------------------------
Ranboo woke up with a start.
What the fuck was that?
He felt nauseous. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and sighed heavily as he swung his feet over the bed. The room swam as he stood, he was gonna puke. Running to the bathroom, he barely made it in time before emptying his stomach of everything in it. There was a knock on the door as he continued to expel his insides. "Kid? You okay in there?" Techno asked. "Yeah, I'm-" Ranboo cut himself off as he heaved again. "I'm fine," he said, leaning his head against the toilet seat. "Are you sure? Because-" Ranboo cut him off as he opened the bathroom door, "I'm fine" he said, pushing past the older man.
"Kid I just heard you throw up in the bathroom." Techno said, "I think maybe you should stay home today." He said but Ranboo continued to prepare for work. "I can't," he said, throwing his work shirt on. "Kid-"
"I can't Techno. Rent is due in a week, and I can’t afford to miss a day." Ranboo explained. He might not be staying at that apartment right now, but he wasn’t gonna leave Tommy and Clementine to struggle by themselves. Techno opened his mouth to say something else, but Ranboo stopped him, “Just take me to work, I’ll be fine.” He grabbed his bag and that was the end of the conversation. Techno didn’t say much once he dropped him off, only to call him when he needed something and blah blah blah. Ranboo mumbled thanks and stumbled out of the car.
He felt like shit as he entered the cafe, he greeted Clem who was at the front counter. “Ranboo? You look awful.” Clementine said, and she wasn’t wrong. The bags under his eyes were deep and he was paler than usual. “Where’s Tommy?” He asked, “I made him stay home today since, well y’know.” Clem explained, and Ranboo nodded because he did indeed know. He stumbled into the break room to put his apron on and ran into Puffy, “Ray? Are you okay?” She asked, looking at him with concern. Why did everyone look at him like that? “Mhm,” He replied, “Are you sure? Y’know you can go home–” Ranboo shook his head profusely, he couldn’t afford to go home right now. He had missed enough days at work. He was fine. “Okay, but let me know if you need anything,” Puffy said, giving him a concerned smile.
Later on, Ranboo regretted not staying home. He had a pounding migraine, his vision was slightly blurred, and he overall felt weak. But he had to power through, he had to. Otherwise, they wouldn’t make rent this month and they had done that one too many times so he was sure they would be evicted if they did it again.
He stumbled through the kitchen as he restocked the muffins and made more cookies, “Hey Ran, we’re running low on chocolate-filled croissants. Might need to restock soon.” Clementine said, poking her head through the door. “On it,” Ranboo slurred, “Hey, are you sure you’re, okay?” His sister asked, stepping into the kitchen. “100%” Ranboo replied, taking the cookies out of the oven. His hands were shaking, and he nearly dropped the pan. He then began filling the freshly baked croissants with chocolate filling. “Ranboo…” Clementine stepped closer to him. “I’m fine Clem, I’m just feeling a bit off today,” Ranboo said as he began to cross the kitchen to grab something. “Nothing to–” His vision came spotty, and the world began to spin as his legs gave out on him and he collapsed. He felt nothing as his head smacked the ground, only the sharp needle that was sticking into his wrist. As the world went dark, Ranboo cursed the heroes.
Techno slammed his head against the desk. There was no information about Ray and Tommy. Only their full names and ages. They had no powers and there was no information on their birthday, who their parents were, nothing! It was like they weren’t real people.
“Hey, Tech!” Wilbur greeted, startling Techno. “Whatcha doing?” He asked, “Uh,” Techno quickly switched his tab before his brother could get a glance, “Nothing,” he said. Wilbur gave him a strange look, “What are you hiding?” He said, narrowing his eyes. Techno ignored the question and instead asked a different one, “What do you know about Tommy?” He asked, “Uh, not much. He doesn’t really talk about himself too often.” Techno hummed, “Why?” Wilbur asked, “Nothing, I was just curious.” He lied; he couldn’t tell Wilbur anything. Not yet. “Wait,” Wilbur gasped, “Are you investigating the Logstedshire case?” Techno said nothing and Wilbur gasped again, “You are! Aren’t you!” Wil leaned closer to look at his computer, “So, did you find out anything?” Techno sighed, “No, there’s not much information on them in the system.” Wilbur hummed, “That’s weird, everyone’s information should be registered.” Both boys pondered for a minute before Wilbur was called away to do something, “Tell me if you find anything out, okay?” Techno nodded as his brother left. He thought about what he’d seen the other night. God, he prayed he was wrong but, so far it was looking like his suspicions were true. He sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He needed coffee. Walking into the break room, he saw Sapnap talking with someone he’d never seen before. “Hey! There’s my favorite piglin hybrid!” Techno raised his brow, “Favorite?” Sapnap walked over with his new friend in tow, “Techno, meet my new assistant, Punz. Punz this is Techno.” Punz waved and the voices went crazy.
EVIL.
HE’S EVIL.
HE’S BAD.
EVIL
EVIL
EVIL
HE’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE
His ear twitched as the voices screamed at him, “So, Punz, how long have you been working here?” Techno asked, now suspicious of the man. “A month.” He responded and Techno hummed. “I’ve been introducing him to all the heroes so he’s familiar with the place,” Sapnap explained, “Oh! There’s George, I gotta go. Seeya around Techno!” Sapnap waved as he dragged Punz to meet George. Techno watched them and as they walked away Punz looked back at him. The voices continued to go crazy but suddenly their tones changed.
Something’s wrong.
RAY.
RAY.
RANBOO.
HE NEEDS HELP.
HE’S SICK.
HELP HIM
HELP HIM
HELP HIM
Techno’s phone buzzed. It was Ray. “Hello?”
“Ran–Ray passed out.”
“What? Wh–Who is this?” Techno asked, “This is his sister. He passed out, I need you to come get him.” The girl said, “I’m on my way.” Techno said. He rushed out of the tower and to his car. He sent Phil a quick text informing him of the current situation and sped off to the cafe. The voices screamed in his head.
HEROES
IT’S THE HEROES FAULT
THEY DID THIS
HEROES
HEROES FAULT
“What do you mean it’s the hero's fault?” Techno asked, but he got no clear answers. They only continued to scream that it was the hero's fault. He shook his head and continued driving.
Once he got there, he burst through the door and saw Puffy waiting for him. “Did you call an ambulance?” He asked as she led him to the back room, “No, he and Clementine insisted on not calling one.” She spoke. As they entered the back room, he saw Ray and his sister sitting on the couch. She was fussing over him while he tried insisting, he was fine, “Kid?” Both of them looked up upon Techno calling out. “Techno! What are you doing here?” The kid asked, “I’m here to pick you up.” Techno replied, “What? Why? My shift isn’t over.”
“Ray, you passed out.” Puffy said, “I’m fine,”
“You can barely stand on your own.” His sister pointed out, “I’ve already clocked you out so you’re free to go.” Puffy stated, “But–”
“No buts, go home and rest. I know you need it.” Ray sighed but didn’t protest as his sister helped him to stand. Ray didn’t look at him as he helped him to the car. He looked embarrassed. “Hey,” His sister said, “Take care of my brother for me yeah?” Techno nodded and opened the car door but stopped, “Before I go,” He dug in his pocket and pulled out two stacks of cash. “Your rent’s due this week, right?” The girl looked at him, mouth agape. “How–”
“Ray told me. Said he couldn’t afford to miss a workday, so that should make up for it.” Techno stated, “This is enough to pay a whole two months. I–Thank you!” She exclaimed, “Any time.” Techno said. He got into his car and saw Ray curled into the seat. He grabbed the blanket from the back seat and draped it over him. Ray mumbled a small thanks and that was the only word said for the rest of the car ride home. When they got home, he helped Ray to bed, “I’ll make you some tea, it should help with the headache.” Ranboo didn’t respond to that, he only closed his eyes, so Techno left him alone. The tea would be waiting for him when he woke up.
......
Later on, Techno was alerted by a loud thud. Bursting into the room he saw the kid on the floor crying. “Kid?” He said, kneeling. He reached out but Ray flinched away, “No, no, it wasn’t my fault.” He cried, “Ray, it’s me–” The kid pushed him away, “Get away from me!” He screeched. Techno put his hands up, “Kid, look at me.” He didn’t look up, “Ray.” Ray sniffled and looked at Techno, “Tech?”
“Hey, why don’t we get off the floor yeah?” Techno helped Ray off of the floor and back into bed. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Ray nodded and Techno went to grab a cup of tea for him. When he came back, it seemed like Ray had calmed down. He thanked Techno for the tea a quietly sipped it while Techno watched him from the edge of the bed. “So–”
“I–I don’t want to talk about it,” Ray said, surprising Techno with his quick cut–off. “Sorry,” He mumbled, “It’s okay.” Techno replied softly, “I’m causing you trouble, aren’t I?” Ranboo questioned, “No, no, not at all.” Techno said. It was quiet for a bit before Ray said something else, “Thank you,” he whispered, Techno gave him a soft smile and took the empty cup out of his hand. “Rest up yeah? Can’t have you out sick for too long.” Ray gave him a small smile and Techno returned it.
God, this kid was gonna be the death of him.
Days went by and Ray didn’t get any better, it seemed like he was getting worse. He could barely get out of bed; he didn’t even have the energy to talk. Techno felt bad. He wasn’t sure what to do, nothing he tried was working and Ray was only getting weaker. “How is he?” Ray’s sister, Clementine, asked. She’d been calling every day to check in. “He’s not getting better; I’ve called in a doctor to check on him.” Techno said, “Shit, my break’s almost over, update me if anything changes.” Clementine said, “I will,”
“Oh, and Techno,”
“Hm?”
“Thank you.”
Techno smiled softly, “Of course.” Clementine hung up and Techno sighed. Someone knocked at the door, and he answered it, “Ponk, I’m glad you could make it.” He said, stepping aside to let the medic in. “Oh course, what’s the issue?” Ponk asked as Techno led him to Ray’s room, “Well, I know you said only to call you for emergencies but…” Techno opened the door to reveal a pale Ray lying in bed, he almost looked lifeless. His breathing was ragged and Ponk gasped once he saw him. Touching his forehead he frowned, “He’s burning up…” he mumbled. “He’s been like this for days now, I’ve tried everything but nothing’s worked.” Ponk pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Ray’s heartbeat. “His heartbeat is deathly slow… I’m glad you called me when you did.” They said, “Do you know what’s wrong with him?” Techno asked, “Something’s sucking the life out of him, it’s feeding on his energy.” Ponk explained, “So you’re saying that–” Ponk nodded, and the voices screeched.
NO
NOOOO
HEROES
HEROES FAULT
HEROES FAULT
“Well, do you know what it is? Do you know how to cure him!?” Techno asked, “Unfortunately, no. But I have a few healing potions that will hopefully slow down the process long enough for me to figure out how to cure him.” Ponk pulled out a few bottles and Techno took them, “Come by the med bay tomorrow to pick up some more.” Ponk said, “Yeah, thanks Ponk.” Techno said solemnly as he led the doctor out of his apartment. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.” They said, “It’s fine Ponk, thanks for coming.” Techno said as he shut the door. He cursed as he banged his head against the door.
Ray was slowly dying. He would have to tell Clementine that.
“Fuck” The voices screamed.
HEROES FAULT
HEROES FAULT
“What do you mean it’s the heroes fault!?” Techno exclaimed.
YOU KNOW WHY
YOU KNOW
He didn’t want to believe them. There was no way.
YOU KNOW
IT’S THE HEROES FAULT
YOU KNOW
No.
YES
YOU KNOW
Techno shook his head. No. He wouldn’t believe it unless the words came out of Ray’s mouth. He tried tuning the voices out, but they only got louder.
IT’S TRUE
YOU KNOW IT
IT’S TRUE
He hated it when they came together to give him a message. It was always too loud. They were too loud.
SAVE HIM
YOU CAN SAVE HIM
“How? By giving him the healing potion?”
NO
NO
SAVE HIM
“You guys aren’t making any sense,” Techno said, shaking his head. He ignored the screaming in his head and reentered the guest room to give him the potions. He gently shook Ray awake, “Kid, I need you to drink this.” Ray groaned, “It’s so you can get better.” Ray slowly opened his eyes to look at Techno. It broke his heart to see how tired Ray looked. Techno slowly tipped the bottle into Ray’s mouth and made sure he drank every last bit of the potion before letting him go back to sleep.
SAVE HIM
SAVE HIM
“Would you guys shut the hell up,” Techno said, mildly annoyed.
They were too loud; he couldn’t hear his own thoughts. They continued to scream things that Techno ignored. He instead went out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. He sat on one of the chairs and stared out at the city. It was a little chilly tonight, not as cold as a few days ago but still cold. Summer was beginning to end, the leaves were turning brown and falling off of the trees. Fall was just around the corner. His mother used to love this time of year.
Techno shook his head; he didn’t want to think about her right now. He didn’t want to think about anything right now. He didn’t drink or smoke or anything like that but he needed something to take his mind off of everything. How was he going to tell Clementine and Tommy that their brother was slowly dying and there was nothing they could do about it? Techno took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Breathe.
........
A little while later Techno was snapped awake by the voices screaming at him.
HELP HIM
HELP HIM
“What?” He hadn’t even realized he fell asleep.
RAY
HELP RAY
HE NEEDS HELP
SAVE HIM
They didn’t have to tell him twice.
Techno ran inside and threw the guest room door open.
The scene he saw almost made him cry.
Ray was on the floor crying.
Trying to pry a power-dampening cuff off of his wrist with a knife.
“Help, please.”
Techno sprang into action. He gently took the knife from Ray’s hand and cursed as he saw where he’d been digging the knife into his arm. “Wait here,” Techno quickly went to the bathroom to find the first aid kit and he dialed Sam’s number as he rummaged through the drawers. “Hello?”
“Sam. What did you use to make those new power-dampening cuffs?” Techno asked, “Well, I used the same materials, but I did use a few end crystals–”
“End crystals, of course.” That’s what was taking all of Ray’s energy. “How do you take them off?”
“Well, since they’re new, I had to connect them to the system which took forever, might I add–”
“They’re connected to the system, so that means the remotes work on them?” Techno asked as he finally found the first aid kit, “I–Yes, they do. Techno what’s going–”
“Okay, thanks Sam,” Techno hastily hung up the phone and ran to the living room. He dug through his bag until he found the remote control to unlock the cuff.
Once he got back to Ray, he knelt next to the kid, “I’m gonna unlock the cuff, okay?” Ray nodded and Techno pressed the button and Ray sighed in relief as the cuff fell to the floor. His eyes flashed purple before going back to normal. Techno took Ray’s wrist to examine the damage he’d done to himself. The cuts were deep, but not too deep. Ray whispered thanks as Techno treated and wrapped his cuts. There was silence, neither of them spoke for a while. Techno’s mind raced and the voices screamed.
ASK HIM
ASK HIM
ASK HIM
He would allow Ray to explain himself before Techno called him out on anything. “Ray, would you care to explain why you had a power–dampening cuff on your wrist?” He asked. Ray looked at him with fear in his eyes, “Promise you won’t be angry?” Ray asked, sounding like a little kid about to tell their parents that they did something bad. Techno nodded and Ray sighed,
“I–I’m Lunar Eclipse.”
This was what he was afraid of.
Tommy sat on a park bench in District 18, he’d been told to stay at home, but he needed some fresh air. “How’s Ran?” Tommy asked, “He and Techno just left but guess what.” Clementine said, “What?”
“Techno just paid our rent for the next two months.” Clementine stated, “What!? No way!” Tommy exclaimed, “Yes way! He gave me two stacks of cash and drove away in his fancy-ass car like the fucking rich person he is.” Tommy laughed, “That fucking awesome! God, I’ve gotta tell him he’s awesome for that.” Tommy said, “I know! But anyway, I’ve gotta go, you better be in bed when I get home.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tommy groaned, “I love you.”
“Love you too Clem,” Tommy said hanging up the phone. Just as he was about to leave, a boy with dark hair and red eyes approached him. “Hey, sorry to bother you but I just wanted to say that your sweater is cool.” He spoke. “Oh, thanks…”
“Eryn. My name is Eryn.”
Notes:
And that folks, is the end of ARC 1.
How did we like it? I typed half of that on my phone in school so if there are any spelling errors or anything like that don't worry ill fix them later. So uh, I guess Techno knows now, that's fun right! Anyway I hope you guys are ready because ARC 2 is gonna be a wild ride. I already have the next two chapters outlined so I'm excited to write those. Before I go I just wanted to shout out my friend for motivating me to get this chapter out, I know you’re reading this so HIIII. but as always please comment any questions or compliments you might have, they motivate me to keep posting. I love you all and until next time friends!♡
Chapter 13: Voices
Summary:
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒅.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“No,”
“Techno?”
“No, you weren’t–”
WE TOLD YOU
WE TOLD YOU
Techno stood and held his head in his hands. “Shut up,” He mumbled, “You promised you wouldn’t be mad,” Ray said, curling into himself. “I’m not–”
ECLIPSE
ECLIPSE
Techno growled, “SHUT UP!” Ray flinched at his sudden outburst. Tears welled up in Ray's eyes and Techno shook his head in an attempt to shut the voices up. “Sorry, not you–I’m sorry,” Techno clutched his head in agony, “Shut up,” Techno pleaded but they continued to scream.
SAM
HE DID THIS
SAM
HE HURT RAY
KILL HIM
KILL HIM
“No, I can’t–I’m not–”
BLOOD
BLOOD
BLOOD
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD
He shook his head and opened his eyes to see Ray curled up in fear, “No, I’m–I’m sorry. Look–” Techno reached out but stopped as he saw the fear in Ray’s eyes.
Fear.
Ray…
Was afraid of him.
That was almost enough to snap Techno out of the hysteria he’d been in.
Almost.
He clutched his head again as the voices screeched, “Techno?” His teeth began sharpening as his eyes turned red, “I’m sorry, I–” He stumbled back and ran out of the room as the voices screamed at him.
BLOOD
BLOOD
BLOOD
“ShutupshutupSHUTUP!” He screamed. He searched for his phone; he needed Wilbur. They had a code, for whenever he had an episode like this.
“Crimson Red.” Wil said, “What?” Techno turned to him, confused. “That’s the color of blood, right? So, that could be our code. Whenever you need me, doesn’t matter what I’m doing or where I am, just say the words and I’ll be there.”
They were sixteen back then. Back when things were simple. Before their mother died. Before Wilbur’s wings were torn off. Before that day. When things were semi-peaceful. He missed those days.
BLOOD
Techno shook his head.
BLOOD
“Stop,”
BLOOD
“Tech?”
“No, shut up.”
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD
“I SAID SHUT UP!” Techno swung but his hand phased through his brother, who was sitting next to him now. “Techno,” The voices drowned out his brother’s soft tone. He began to pull at his hair, but Wilbur gently pulled them away, “Talk to me,”
KILL HIM
KILL HIM
"No, no I can't–"
"Tell me what they’re saying." Techno shook his head, "They want me to kill him," He whispered, “Kill who?” Wilbur asked but Techno only shook his head and growled at the voices continued to scream at him. “Tech,” He didn’t respond, “Techno, look at me.” Techno looked at his brother, his gaze was soft. “They do not control you.” He said but Techno could barely hear him. He squeezed his eyes shut and growled, “Hey, listen to me.” Wilbur said, his tone soft. “They’re in your head, you don’t have to listen to them.” The voices continued to shout but Wilbur’s words had finally gotten through as Techno regained control of his own mind. His eyes returned to their normal color and his fangs retracted as he breathed a sigh of relief.
You cannot ignore us forever.
You will spill blood on behalf of our god.
Techno took a deep breath to steady his racing heart, “You back?” Wilbur asked and Techno nodded, “It’s been a while since you texted me like that.” His brother said, “Yeah,” Techno sighed, “What happened? What triggered it?” Wilbur asked and one of the voices whispered in the back of his mind.
Eclipse
But Techno immediately silenced it, “I–I don’t know,” He said, “Tech–”
“I’m gonna check on Ray,” Techno said, leaving the living room without giving his brother a chance to respond. Poking his head into the bedroom he saw Ray, still on the floor curled in on himself. “Ray?” The kid looked up and Techno slowly approached him, not wanting to scare him again. “Let’s get you off the floor, yeah?” Ray nodded and allowed Techno to help him off the floor and into bed. Techno sighed, "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." He said, "It's ok, I know what it's like to lose control of your powers." Ray said softly. That was the thing that confused Techno. On file, Ray had no powers, so if he was Lunar Eclipse that meant...
“Tech! People are here to see you!” Wilbur called from the other room. People? What people? “I’ll be right back.” Ray nodded as Techno walked back to the living room. “Techno!” Tommy exclaimed, “Hey, Tommy.” Techno said, “I hope you don’t mind that we stopped by, I know it’s late.” Clementine said, “No, it’s fine.” Techno replied, “Uh, Ray’s in the other room if you wanna go talk to him.” Tommy smiled at the mention of his brother’s name and ran to the other room, pulling Wilbur with him.
“So,” Clementine sighed, “How is he doing? What did the doctor say?” She asked and Techno sighed, “So uh, when the doctor came over, I explained all of Ray’s symptoms and he did a quick check-up.” He said, “And? What’s wrong with him?” Clem asked and Techno hesitated, “Well, he uh…”
“What?” Techno sighed once more before replying, “He told me Ranboo was dying.” Clementine’s face dropped at Techno’s words. “What?” She whispered, “I’m sorry,”
“Why didn’t you call me I–I don’t–” Clementine covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes, “I didn't know how to break the news…”
“So, what now? Do I just sit here and watch as my brother slowly dies?” Clementine questioned, her voice breaking at the last word. “No–I–” Techno sighed, “The doctor gave me some healing potions–”
“Potions!? What the hell are potions gonna do for him!?”
“They’ll slow down the process–”
“Slow it down? That’ll only make it worse for him!” Clem exclaimed and Techno sighed, “Look, I know this might be hard to swallow–” Clementine scoffed, “But just let me finish.” Techno said, “Finish what? Telling me that my brother is slowly dying and there’s nothing I can do about it but stand and watch?” Clementine remarked but he said nothing else as Techno sighed, “So, once the doctor left I…Found the cause of his sickness…” Clementine’s face contorted into fear, “What–What do you mean?” Clem asked, “You know what I mean.” Techno replied, “How…How’d you–”
“I found him digging into his arm with a knife trying to get the cuff off.” Techno stated, “Oh my god…” Clem whispered, “Did–Did you get it off?” She asked and Techno nodded, “But how?”
“With this,” Techno pulled out the remote that controlled the cuffs, “But you can only get those at–”
“The Hero Tower, yeah, I’m aware.” Clementine’s eyes widened as she realized where Techno worked, “Tommy!” She called but Techno stopped her, “Wait–”
“No, my brother is not staying here with someone who works with the people who are out to get my brothers.” Clem declared, “I understand your mistrust of me, but I can assure you I would never do anything to put your brother in harm's way.” Techno stated sincerely. Clementine’s eyes observed him, looking for any sign of deceptiveness but she found none. “So, what do you want?” She questioned, “Nothing! I have a few questions, that's all.”
“Well, I’m not the one to ask,” Clementine said, “Tommy! It’s time to go!” She yelled, “Aw, but we just got here.” Tommy whined, “We’re leaving, c’mon.” Tommy deflated but grabbed his coat and walked to the door with his sister. Clementine turned to him and whispered one last thing before leaving, “Hurt my brother and I promise it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” Techno stood there; a bit shocked before closing the door. “What was that about?” Wilbur asked, “Nothing,” Wil gave him a look and sighed as he prepared to leave, “Well, it’s late so–”
“You can stay here for the night,” Techno said, taking the coat from his brother’s hands. “Are you sure?” He asked, “Yeah, I have an air mattress you can sleep on.” He said, “Just let Dad know you’re staying here for the night, y’know the old man will go insane if he doesn’t hear from you for the rest of the night.” Wil rolled his eyes and laughed, “Yeah, I know.”
As Techno poked his head into the guest room, he saw Ray, back turned to him soundly asleep. Techno sighed, he could ask questions tomorrow, Ray needed to rest anyway.
.............
Later on, when he and Wil were getting ready for bed, Wil asked a question. “Tech, you’d tell me if something was wrong right?” Techno was a bit puzzled by the question but answered, “Yeah, of course–”
“You’d never keep anything important from me, right?” Wil asked, “No–Wil where is this coming from?” Techno asked but his brother ignored him in favor of asking another question, “And you’d tell me if the voices were getting bad again, right?” Techno sighed, “Of course Wil, I would never keep anything like that from you.” He answered, hoping to calm Wil’s anxiety. It seemed to work as he took a deep breath, “Okay, okay,” He whispered, Techno patted his shoulder before climbing into bed. He hoped his brother wouldn’t be mad at him for not telling him about Ray, but he just couldn’t. Not now.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Ray sighed, “Like I said before, I feel fine now, so yeah.” Techno sighed, he didn’t like the idea of Ray at the apartment by himself but had no choice, he’d already taken too many days off, he was a hero, and heroes had a job to do. “I’m gonna have Niki come over and check on you later.” He said, grabbing his keys. As he was about to leave, he stopped. “Please don’t do anything…Dangerous while I'm gone.” Ray sighed and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I know, now please, go to work!” Ray exclaimed and before Techno could say another word, he practically pushed him out of the apartment.
As Techno drove, he couldn’t help but think about what happened last night. Ray being Lunar Eclipse was something he was struggling to wrap his head around. Lunar Eclipse and Supernova were supposedly killers, but Ray looked like he wouldn’t even hurt a fly. He was like a friendly giant, and then there was Tommy. He’d assumed that since Ray was Lunar then Tommy had to be Supernova, they were partners in crime, so it only made sense. But if Tommy was Supernova, then that meant he was an unregistered Avian. And that meant that both boys had unregistered powers, which meant–
“Tech stop!” Techno slammed on the brakes. “You almost ran that light!” Techno’s eyes were blown wide, and his knuckles were white from holding onto the steering wheel so tightly. “Tech? You okay?” Techno took and deep breath and loosened his grip on the steering wheel. “Yeah,” He sighed. He continued to drive as if nothing had happened, but Wil knew, he knew something was up.
.........
Blood Kill Him Eclipse BLOOD
Eclipse Kill Them All Blood Blood
Kill Blood Kill Them KILL HIM ECLIPSE KILL
They screamed at him.
Whispered in his ear.
They talked so much Techno hadn’t even realized he’d gotten out of the car and went into the tower until someone spoke to him. “Techno?” Fundy’s voice snapped Techno out of the daze he was in. “You called my name and then just stared at me.” He said, “Did you need something?” Techno blinked, “Uh, yeah, sorry. Is Sam in today?” Techno asked, “Yeah, he should be in–”
“Okay thanks,” Techno said speeding off. “His office…” Fundy blinked in confusion before rolling his eyes and mumbling an insult under his breath.
Techno burst into Sam’s office startling him, he fumbled with a vile in his hands trying not to drop it. “Techno, you scared me.” He breathed, “I need you to modify the new power cuffs.” Techno said, “W–What do you mean by modify?” Sam asked, “I need you to water down the effects of the end crystal.” Techno stated, “I can’t “water down” the effect Techno, that would defeat the whole purpose of them. They’re supposed to stop Lunar from using his powers, if I dilute the effects, I’m not sure if they’ll work.” Sam replied, “Well, find something else to power them then,” Sam sighed, “Techno, I can’t just “find something else”. Do you know how long it took to make these cuffs? I had to learn how to reverse engineer the power of the crystal and then size it down to fit into the cuff. I can’t just–” Techno slammed his hands on Sam’s desk, “I don’t care how long it took you to make them, I’m telling you to reduce the effects of the crystal. The power of the end crystal is too strong, someone could get killed.” He gritted, “How do you know this?” Sam asked, “It doesn’t matter, just listen to me.” Techno continued, “I don’t care how you do it, just reduce the effects of that crystal. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to make anything again.” He stormed out of Sam’s office as the voices roared.
BLOOD
BLOOD
BLOOD
As he walked, he heard his brother call out to him. “What the hell was that about!?” he asked, “Did you just threaten Sam?” Techno continued to walk without answering his brother, “I knew you didn’t like him but hell, what did he do to you?” Techno didn’t answer, “Tech?” he kept walking, “Hey,” Wilbur stopped him, “What’s going on? Did something happen?” He asked, “Nothing.” Techno answered, “Tech–”
“It’s nothing, okay? I gotta go.” Wilbur watched as his brother sped away from him. He had a terrible gut feeling that something was happening.
Ranboo groaned as he drank the last drop of the healing potion. While he was glad it made him feel better, it didn’t take away from the horrible taste of it. He sighed as a wave of nausea passed through him. His eyes glowed for a second before he blinked the purple hue away. His powers had been a bit whack ever since the cuff came off, he guessed it was the side effects of having the thing on so long. He sighed and thought about the events from last night. Techno seemed so distressed when Ranboo revealed his identity, it made him think. Did he know something Ranboo didn’t?
You’re such an idiot.
Oh, for Prime’s sake.
Miss me?
“Not at all,” Ranboo said.
Well, I’m back now, and I need you to know you’re such an idiot.
I mean, revealing your identity to a stranger? How dumb.
“He’s not a stranger, Techno’s a nice guy.” They replied.
It could be an act. Y’know people can be good actors.
“He seems genuine.”
Please, did you see the way he reacted when you revealed who you were?
Remember the last time this happened?
“Techno’s not like that, he’s a good guy.”
He could turn you in.
“No, he wouldn’t do that.” Ranboo insisted but the voice continued.
Need I remind you what happened last time you said that?
“Shut up.”
Don’t you remember what he did to you?
How could he forget?
I thought the smile burned into your neck would be reminder enough, but I guess not.
Ranboo tried ignoring the voice, but it persisted.
Don’t you remember the experiments?
“Stop.”
The games?
“Stop it.”
What about the punishments? Oh, those were always the worst.
“I SAID STOP!” The apartment rattled as Ranboo shouted, he jumped as someone knocked on the door.
“Hey,” Niki greeted as he opened the door, “Is everything okay? I heard screaming.” She asked, “Oh, yeah, everything’s fine.” He said, stepping aside to let her in. “Oh, I uh, brought some soup!” She said, holding up a container. “Techno told me you weren’t feeling too well. I’ll heat it for you.” Before Ranboo could tell her she didn’t have to she was already taking her coat off and, in the kitchen, heating the soup for him. As he sat down at the counter Floof came up to him, “So, how’s it living with Techno so far?” Niki asked as Ranboo picked up Floof “Considering the fact that I’ve been sick for the two weeks I’ve stayed here, it’s been okay.” He said while petting the dog. She chuckled as she turned to set the bowl of soup in front of him, “I see that you’ve gotten acquainted with Floof.” She observed, “Yeah, he’s become my new best friend.” Ranboo replied, “Isn’t that right Floof?” He said while scratching behind the dog’s ear. Floof barked in agreement. “He usually isn’t too fond of new people, but I guess you’re the exception,” Niki mentioned. Ranboo gave the dog one last pet before putting him down, “Yeah, Techno said the same thing when I first came over.” Ranboo said, blowing on the soup before tasting it. His eyes lit up and Niki laughed, “It’s chicken noodle soup, thought it’d help you feel better.” It had a bit of spice in it, it reminded him of how his mom used to make it.
“Sweetheart, slow down or you’ll choke.” She said as Ranboo shoveled the soup into his mouth. He opened his mouth and exhaled, steam came out of his mouth and his mother giggled. “You have to blow on it honey, here, let me help you. I don’t want you burning your taste buds off.”
“Ranboo?” He hummed, “You okay?” Niki asked, “Uh, yeah, sorry. The soup’s good reminds me of my mom.” He replied, “She used to make this when it got cold out.” Niki hummed, “Well, if you ever want some more know where to find me.” She smiled, “I better get going.” She said, grabbing her coat. “Thanks for the soup, Niki.” Ranboo said, “No problem, I hope you feel better soon!” She spoke. Ranboo waved as she left and wished her safe travels as it began to snow outside.
He sighed as he plopped down on the couch and his phone rang. Picking it up Tubbo immediately yelled at him.
“Turn the TV on!” Ranboo jerked the phone away from his ear, “What? Why?” He asked but Tubbo didn’t explain, “Just do it!”
“–The vigilantes known as Supernova and Lunar Eclipse have been accused of murder. The heores have just put out an official warrant for their arrest. As we all know, there have been bodies showing up in dark alleys and it is believed that the so called “Super Stars” are behind them.”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
Techno ran out of his office and down to the parking lot. The only thing running through his mind was Ray.
“I’ll be there in a sec,” Ranboo said, teleporting away.
“Please be there, please be there.” Techno said, stepping on the gas.
“What do you wanna do?” Tubbo asked, Ranboo thought for a second.
Techno ran up the stairs, skipping two at a time.
“Are you sure you wanna do this?”
Techno burst into his apartment praying that Ray was in his room.
Show them. Show them who you are. Who we are.
Techno opened the door to see an empty bedroom.
“Do it.”
Notes:
Hello! Welcome to ARC 2 of this story. Starting off really strong with some angst! How did we like it? Had some split perspective between Ranboo and Techno there at the end. I wanted to try something different to show that those scenes are happening at the same time.
There are little details in there about Techno that will be explained later in the story, and I will be making a little prequel on Techno's life when he was younger! I'm also working on another story that's connected to this one, but I'll talk about that another day. I just wanted to tell you guys that I've set a goal to post a chapter before the end of every month or on the first of every month so expect more frequent updates. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, feel free to comment your thoughts or any questions you have as it lets me know you all enjoy the story and motivates me to keep writing. I love you all and until next time friends!
Chapter 15: SUPPORT VICTIMS
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Hello guys, if you all don't know the situation by now, Shubble very bravely spoke out about the abuse she experienced while dating someone extremely famous. And while she hadn't said a name at first, Wilbur has recently come out with a statement, and let me say, it was fucking shit.
Before I continue, I want to say that I wholeheartedly support Shelby. What she went through was horrible and I cannot imagine what she's feeling right now. Wilbur's "apology" was full of shit. He was just talking about himself the whole time, trying to defend himself instead of taking accountability for his actions. If you support him, FUCK YOU. Do not come into my comment section trying to defend him because your comment will be deleted.
Wilbur was one of my favorite content creators and later on, created what used to be my favorite band and it saddens me to learn about his awful behavior. When I first created this story, it was for fun, but as I continued to write it, it became my passion project. And though I haven't been very involved or interested in DSMP or its fandom since late 2022, I continued to write and post this story as it brought me joy seeing other people enjoy my writing. I love writing this story with a passion, but I'm not sure if I want to continue writing this with Wilbur's character being in it considering he plays such a huge part in the story. I had so much planned for this story, months went into planning it out and it breaks my heart to think I might not continue it. It's not set in stone yet; I will tell you all if this story will be continued or not but for now, I will be taking a break as I need time to process all of this.
My heart goes out to Shelby and anyone else who has dealt with Wilbur's unacceptable behavior. Domestic abuse is a serious issue and should not be taken lightly, I stand with Shelby and if you don't you are a horrible person. I do not support Wilbur, and neither should you.
Take care of yourselves guys, I love you all.
Notes:
Support Shelby here!
⇩
https://www.twitch.tv/shubble
https://www.youtube.com/@Shubble
Instagram @Shelbygraces
Twitter @Shelbygraces
Chapter 16: I'm sorry.
Chapter Text
Hey guys! So, I've taken the time to think and don't think I'll continue this fic. I'm sorry to disappoint you all but it's just not something I wanna do anymore. As I said in the last update, I haven't been interested in DSMP for a while, and mixed with all of the things coming out about some of the creators I decided to discontinue this story.
BUT!
I had been planning on adapting this story into a fantasy/sci-fi book and I've already started rewriting the chapters and making new characters. So much planning has gone into this story and I couldn't just stop writing it, so I made my new characters and unlike what I've posted on here the storyline will have no plotholes and it'll be fully thought out.
I would've told you the story's outline and what I had planned, but that would be spoiling it so you'll just have to read it once it's published to find out what happens ;)
As much as I loved writing this fic, it was time to move on. Though, best believe I will be keeping the original documents with all my original ideas for nostalgia.
Well, it's been nice guys. Thank you for reading my work, I really did appreciate it.
Take care of yourselves and support victims.
I love you all!
Abby_Abbeyy on Chapter 2 Tue 07 Jun 2022 03:04PM UTC
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Gloomy_Ghostie on Chapter 11 Tue 03 Oct 2023 03:12PM UTC
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smells_peachy on Chapter 11 Wed 04 Oct 2023 03:19AM UTC
Last Edited Wed 04 Oct 2023 03:20AM UTC
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smells_peachy on Chapter 11 Wed 04 Oct 2023 04:43AM UTC
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Gloomy_Ghostie on Chapter 12 Wed 13 Dec 2023 05:45AM UTC
Last Edited Sat 23 Dec 2023 05:25PM UTC
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Gloomy_Ghostie on Chapter 13 Sat 17 Feb 2024 07:35AM UTC
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smells_peachy on Chapter 13 Sun 18 Feb 2024 06:29AM UTC
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